


Our Very Own Side

by PurebloodScion



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25610488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurebloodScion/pseuds/PurebloodScion
Summary: Harry Potter and Tom Riddle have a lot in common. Both of them are Half-bloods raised by abusive muggles. Both of them are Parselmouths. Both are sorted into the house of snakes. What sets them apart is that one had friends, true, loyal friends, and the other did not. The story of a cold and calculating Harry. Slytherin!Harry. Grey!Harry. OC is the son of Sirius. No slash
Relationships: Daphne Greengrass/Harry Potter, Tracey Davis/OC
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	1. The Wizarding World

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted of fanfiction.net

Chapter 1

OVOS

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, was sat on his armchair in his office, mentally preparing himself for the task which lay ahead of him. It was now almost 10 years since he had dropped off young Harry on the doorsteps of the Dursleys, and he had to visit him now to deliver the letter of acceptance to him.

He didn't know what to expect. Would Harry grow up loved and cared by his Uncle and Aunt, away from all the fame? Or would he be ignored and treated with indifference by the Dursleys? Petunia had been jealous of her sister, and Dumbledore could only hope that the jealousy had not manifested into hate. Else, he would never be able to forgive himself for leaving Harry with the muggles, even if it had seemed the best option after the war.

He sighed. There was no point in making assumptions. His doubts would only be cleared once he saw Harry with his own eyes. He got up and with one last glance at Fawkes, he excited his office. He walked through the hallways of corridors of the ancient castle and soon found himself standing in front of the gates of Hogwarts. He opened them and exited, and immediately felt the feeling of leaving the wards. With barely a sound, he spun on the spot and vanished. He appeared in a deserted alley near #4, Privet Drive, and began walking towards his destination.

The first signs that something was wrong was when he felt the blood wards. The intent-based blood wards which he had erected were severely weak in contrast to how strong they had been when he had erected them. They were holding up though, and that was what mattered.

He frowned, but kept walking until he arrived in front of the door. He knocked, and waited for someone to open it. He heard a pair of footsteps approach the door, and the doorknob turned before it opened to reveal Petunia Dursley wearing a very fake smile on her face.

As soon as she saw him, her eyes widened, and her lips parted in horror. The wrinkles on her face became more pronounced, and she gaped for a moment or two before attempting to close the door. Dumbledore just wandlessly held the door open, and Petunia's attempts were in vain.

"I am here to speak to Harry, Petunia" Dumbledore said calmly, his eyes twinkling.

"No… No… I will not allow any more freaks into this house! What do you want with Harry!?"

"I am here to deliver his letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry." He said in the same calm voice.

"No… No… I will not have him going to… that… freak school"

"You cannot keep him away from his birthright, Petunia."

Petunia huffed and moved aside to let Dumbledore in. Dumbledore walked in and looked around.

"Where is Harry, Petunia?"

Petunia wrung her hands and shifted nervously. Dumbledore frowned, and repeated the question.

"He is in the cupboard" She said, pointing at a small closet under the stairs.

Dumbledore's frown deepened. What would Harry be doing in a cupboard? Kids these days. He shook his head and walked towards the cupboard and knocked.

The door opened and a face peeked out. Harry was scrawny and lean, way more than normal. His hair was messy, and he looked like James, but with Lily's eyes. He was handsome despite his malnourishment, his high cheekbones and prominent jaw line giving him an aristocratic look. His face was blank, conveying none of his emotions. His eyes betrayed his fear though.

Dumbledore observed the cupboard and his anger surged, although he didn't show it. It was obvious that Harry slept here.

"You are a doctor, aren't you? You have come to take me away to a mental hospital, for freaks like me, haven't you? Did _she_ get you in to have a look at me?" Harry said, pointing at Petunia.

"No, no." Dumbledore said with a shake of his head.

"Don't lie! Tell me the truth! Who are you?" The last three words were more of a command than a request.

"I am Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts"

"No. No. You can't fool me. You are from the asylum, aren't you? You just want me to come with you so that you can lock me up, isn't it?"

Dumbledore was eerily reminded of another student, but he ignored it.

"I am not from the asylum. Hogwarts is a school for people with special abilities-"

"I'm not mad, nor am I crazy!"

"I know that you aren't mad. Hogwarts is not a school for mentally challenged people. It is a school of magic"

Harry froze. His face was as expressionless as before, but his eyes had widened a bit

"It's magic? What I can do?"

"What is it you can do?" Dumbledore asked, his frown prevalent.

"I can make things move and lift them without touching them. I can vanish certain small things. I can speak to snakes." Harry said and sat down with a thud.

Dumbledore was surprised now. If what Harry was telling was true, he had a good grasp on wandless magic and a high magical affinity. Also, he was a _parselmouth!_ So there was another heir then… How fitting... there was no doubt now that Harry was the Child of Prophecy. He was yet again reminded of another student, but ignored it again.

"I knew I was special. Always."

"You are a wizard, Harry. Just like your parents."

"My parents? They were magical too?" The question was rhetoric, and Harry continued "Prove it then. Show me magic"

Dumbledore pulled out his wand, and upon seeing Harry's questioning look, he chuckled and waved it. Immediately, Harry's broken glasses repaired themselves. He gave it another wave and transfigured his overly large clothes into proper, fitting ones.

"Wow. Why do you need a wand to do magic? I can do magic without it"

"Wands act as a focus point to channel your magic. What you are doing is wandless magic, a very rare talent. Only a few people have mastered it"

Harry's eyes gleamed with excitement and pride, and Dumbledore risked a passive Legillimency probe. He was surprised when he came across very strong (for such a young age), but underdeveloped barriers. He could have broken past them with the same effort as casting a _lumos,_ though _._

"Where can I get a wand?" Harry asked

"Only if you are accepting your place at Hogwarts –"

"Of course, Sir"

"Then all the details are in this letter. You will need to visit Diagon Alley, and I will send an escort…"

"That is not needed, sir." Harry said with an air of finality. "I have explored London on my own before." It was the truth. He had lost track of the times he had walked to the grocer's, or to the post office and many other places to complete the chores. Aunt Petunia had never given him the money to catch a bus or take a train. That reminded him of another issue. "I do not have money, though"

Dumbledore chuckled. "You are rich, Harry. Your parents left you a huge sum."

"Bu… But… they were poor people who died in a car crash!"

Dumbledore sighed. His worst fears had come true. "No, Harry. Your parents were murdered by a madman."

Dumbledore noticed that Harry's eyes hardened at this, and with a shaky voice he said, "Tell me everything, sir"

"Alright, then." He sighed "A wizard named Lord Voldemort and his followers called death eaters were spreading fear in the wizarding world. Your parents opposed him, Harry, along with so many others. On October 31st, 1981, he entered your house and killed your parents with a spell called the killing curse – "

"Avada Kedavra" Harry whispered, but Dumbledore heard it and his eyes widened in shock. "I dream about it, sir. The words, then a green light killing my mother, and then my vision being filled with green." He paused, contemplating whether to continue or not. He finally asked "How am I alive, sir?"

Dumbledore was further surprised at Harry's directness and him putting two and two together so quickly. "Your mother sacrificed herself for you, Harry. An ancient form of magic was evoked, which gave you a form of protection against the Killing curse, which rebounded off of you – giving you the scar on your forehead - and struck Voldemort, killing him and ending his reign. Thus, you are the only known wizard to have survived the killing curse in the history of wizardkind, Harry. This, and the fact that you 'defeated' possibly the most powerful Dark Lord has made you famous, Harry. Each and every witch and wizard in Britain, if not the world, knows your name, and they call you the 'boy-who-lived'."

The gleam in his eyes was back again, but a few seconds later, his eyes hardened.

"If I am so famous, why did no wizarding family want to adopt me? Why was I left in this hell hole?" His voice was cool, but had an edge to it.

Dumbledore sighed inwardly. He was stuck now. He could lie, yes, but Harry would find out the truth eventually. He decided to go with the truth.

"I placed you here, Harry."

Hardly had the words left his lips when Harry's head snapped upwards. His eyes met Harry's which were burning with a fury that Dumbledore had never expected to see. He mentally braced himself for the shouting, but it never came. Instead, Harry's face regained the expressionless mask, although his eyes were still showcasing his inner fury.

"Why? There must have been a valid reason."

Dumbledore was impressed now. Any other child in this situation would have ranted and thrown a tantrum, but Harry was calm and collected and had decided to look at it logically.

"Even if Voldemort had been defeated, his followers were at large, Harry. Many escaped any punishments by claiming that they had been forced, using a mind controlling spell, to do their master's bidding. They would have been out for revenge, and you would not be safe in the wizarding world. Also, I erected powerful protections called wards around this house. These wards basically used the same protection which your mother gave you to keep away the death eaters. But for it to work properly, the wards had to be erected around the adobe of your mum's closest blood relatives, and they would be fueled by your Aunt and Uncle's love for you. This also had the added advantage of keeping you away from your fame and having a chance at a normal childhood

Harry fell silent for a few seconds, his head hung. Then he looked at Dumbledore, who resisted the urge to flinch upon looking at Harry's eyes. His eyes were glowing a bright green with pure, unadulterated rage. He then began to laugh. A humourless laugh, devoid of happiness.

"I can agree with only your first point, _Professor_. But you are deluded. My aunt and uncle never loved me, and never will. Or haven't you deduced that from my clothes, living conditions and my physical state, Huh? I was abused, Mr. Dumbledore. And did you seriously think that keeping me away from the wizarding world, where I rightfully belong, would do any good? I am supposed to adjust myself to a world completely different from this world, and also have to learn to deal with my fame in a month? I never had a childhood. I was never a child. This letter says that you hold a lot of titles. If such a high-ranking person such as yourself is this idiotic, I fear how the rest of the wizarding world would be. I never knew about magic, but I am supposed to attend classes and compete with people who have known about it and already have a head start?"

Each and every word hurt. The enormity of his mistake came crashing down and it made it hard to speak.

"Harry – "

Harry spat. "You may leave"

"Harry –" Dumbledore tried again.

"Leave." Harry said coolly

Dumbledore sighed. He had lost Harry's trust. He would have to work very hard for Harry to trust him again. Hardly had he turned away when he heard the cupboard door slam shut. His sadness gave way to anger.

"I want him out of the cupboard, Petunia" He thundered, power lacing his words.

"O... Okay" Petunia shuddered under the gaze of the old man. With an nearly inaudible pop, Dumbledore disappeared causing Petunia to shriek in fright.

OVOS

Harry had accepted that he knew almost nothing and had a lot to learn about the wizarding world, thanks to a certain old fool, but he would never be prepared for the sight that met him when he followed a wizard into Diagon Alley. He had hidden his scar with a cap to not attract attention. Diagon Alley was bustling with witches and wizards in robes. The magical items on display were amazing, although he did not understand what most of it was for.

It took Harry more than half a day to finish all the needed shopping. He had visited Gringotts first, and had asked for another key to be made for his trust vault since he did not have the other, thus rendering the other void. He had realised that he was one of the richest wizards in Britain, but would be able to access his trust vault only until he was of age. He had then bought his school robes as well as casual robes at Madam Malkin's, and was pleased that they were very comfortable. He had then made his way to the bookstore, where he bought all books for school as well as other supplementary books for their respective subjects. He had also bought books on the workings of the wizarding world, a book about wizard genealogy, a book about basic etiquette and a book about basic magical theory.

The next stop had been for his stationery. The usage of quills and parchment seemed weird to him at first, but he then understood that normal paper would shrivel up due to the ambient magic and in the air and potion fumes. He had also purchased a trunk with 3 compartments, one compartment for his stationery and books, the other for his clothes, and the last one for his other possessions – although he did not have much.

He had considered buying a non-venomous snake, as he could speak to them like he assumed any other wizard or witch could, but the letter had only allowed owls, frogs or cats. He had finally bought a snowy owl who had seemed to have taken a liking to him, and he had named her Hedwig. He had no intentions of going back to Privet Drive, and thus had booked a room at the Leaky Cauldron under a different name.

Buying his wand had been a tiresome experience. The eccentric shopkeeper had bustled about the shop, handing him wand after wand, none of which Ollivander had allowed to stay in his hand for more than a second. Each and every one of those wands had felt very cold and hostile, but nearly an hour later, a holly and phoenix feather wand had jumped into his wand the moment its box had been opened, and a warm feeling had encompassed his body. Ollivander's eyes had widened at this, and he had muttered under his breath for a while. Harry had initially been unnerved when Ollivander had told him that his and Voldemort's wands were brothers, but that changed to joy, pride and excitement when Ollivander had told him that great things could be expected of him.

He had expected that the knowledge which he gained from the books would be very useful, but never had he expected it to shock and surprise him as much as it had.

OVOS

The first thing Harry had learnt was the division of people according to their parentage: Purebloods, half-bloods and muggleborns. Then, he had learnt about the existence of Houses. He was shocked when he learnt that he was heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. The book had detailed the reasons behind the titles as:

**Most Ancient Houses: Houses which have been in Britain since the formation of an organized Wizarding Britain. The members of most of these houses have played very important roles in the formation of the Ministry of Magic, and have also contributed to Wizarding Britain in numerous ways, like establishing businesses. All Most Ancient Houses are Noble Houses. Thus, they are awarded two hereditary seats on the Wizengamot. No houses, other than the currently existing Most Ancient houses, can ever become a Most Ancient House.**

**Noble Houses: These are the houses that have been in Wizarding Britain for at least 15 generations. They have contributed to Wizarding Britain by simply settling in Britain. The taxes collected from them have helped the ministry in a lot of ways. Thus, they have one hereditary seat on the Wizengamot. Any house which stays in Britain for 15 generations is awarded the title of Noble House.**

**Major houses: These are the houses that have been in Wizarding Britain for at least 8 generations. They have no hereditary wizengamot seats, but individual Heads of the houses may be awarded a Wizengamot seat based on their merits.**

**Minor Houses: These are the houses thar have been in Wizarding Britain for at least 4 generations. Heads of these houses can contest for seats on the Wizengamot, and they are elected by the other Houses.**

Harry felt that this system was the best for Wizarding Britain due to the lesser population. The book had argued that it was completely fair that muggleborns were only minorly represented in the Wizengamot because they were new to the Wizarding world, and thus would bring in muggle ideas which were not best suited for the Wizarding world. Moreover, they had not contributed to Wizarding Britain as much as the Most Ancient, Noble and Major houses had. Harry had agreed with this, and had realised that since he too would one day be attending the Wizengamot, he had to be prepared. He couldn't do anything about that matter currently, but he had decided to sign himself up for classes the next summer.

Harry took solace in the fact that he would not have to do ridiculous stuff like address people as Heir whatever or Lord whatever. That would have been way too formal and awkward.

The next book had surprised him, shocked him and had him grinning all at the same time. It had been about wizarding genealogy, and Harry had learnt about the founders as well as all the prominent families. What caused him the aforementioned reactions was when he learnt that the ability to speak to snakes, Parseltongue, was an ability that was present only in the descendants of Salazar Slytherin, Lord Voldemort being the last of the descendants. The book had gone on to speculate that the Blacks too had Salazar's blood in them due to the rumoured ability of them being Parselmouths decades ago, but the ability had died out due to lots of inbreeding to keep the bloodlines pure. Harry had also learnt the names of his grandparents – Charlus Potter and Dorea Potter nee Black. The book had informed that parseltongue was considered dark by many, mainly due to it being propagated by Dark wizards like Herpo the Foul and 'You-know-who' – as all wizards and witches and publications referred to Voldemort ( _What a silly name)._ He had wisely decided to keep his talent a secret.

Harry had wondered how he was a Parselmouth. He had first theorized that the Killing curse had somehow transferred it to him from Voldemort, but the book about Magical Theory had a section dedicated to Parseltongue wherein it informed the readers that Parseltongue was basically Family magic, and thus could in no way be transferred or learnt in any way or using any ritual.

He had then read about Family magic, how certain spells when crafted using blood magic would result in it being able to be cast only by the wizards and witches who were descended from the creator of the spells, which was due to the fact that the blood and magic of a wizard were very closely related. This also led to the belief that the more powerful the wizard, the more likely the chance of him or her exhibiting long dormant abilities.

After reading all this, Harry had come to the conclusion that he was indeed more powerful than the average wizard, due to his good grasp on wandless magic. This might have allowed the dormant Parseltongue abilities in him from his grandmother to resurface.

Staying at the Leaky Cauldron had the added benefit of him being able to practice magic, which he would have been unable to do if he were at his relatives' house. At first, he had failed to even cast the most basic spells mentioned in the spellbook after repeated tries, but then he realised that he'd been going about it the wrong way. He had considered that using a wand would be like using a muggle gun, just do the necessary wand movements and say the spell. When this did not work, Harry recalled Dumbledore's words. _"Wands are only focus points for channeling our magic"_

He then tried the _Wingardium Leviosa_ spell with his wand, but this time, he went about it the same way he did whenever he had lifted objects in the air wandlessly. First, he concentrated on a quill and willed his magic to encompass it. He then imagined it lifting itself in the air. He did not even have to say the spell or do the necessary wand moments as the quill raised itself up in the air. Using a wand, though, was different from wandless magic. Harry felt that it was easier to control the movements of the quill, as well as he felt that his magic flowed from his body to the wand much more freely and unrestrained.

This led to a few revelations and much questions. ' _Then_ _Magic is mostly about intent? Most likely'_ he wrote in his journal _._ This was proved by how he had been able to do magic wandlessly, and without requiring wand movements or the incantation. All his previous wandless magic (which he took great pride in) had been fueled by his will to make something happen. This had led to the question of why exactly wand movements or spell incantations were required. He had not found any books on this topic in Flourish and Blott's, and had decided to pursue this in the Hogwarts library, which he had found out from _Hogwarts - A History_ was the biggest in all of Britain, if not Europe.

After this, spell casting had become second nature to him. He fell into a routine of reading the theory behind a particular spell and understanding it before he actually cast it. This helped him a lot, and he was halfway through the Charms, transfiguration and Defence spells by the end of the month

Harry had realised another thing. The first time he cast new spells, he had to concentrate a lot and imagine the spell taking effect before doing the necessary wand movements and saying the incantations properly for it to work flawlessly. But after he practiced the spell a few dozen times, all he needed to do was the necessary wand movements (for the more complicated spells) and speak the incantation in his mind and the spell would work. It was as if his magic would somehow get _accustomed_ to the spell, and would understand his wishes. He wrote down these observations in his journal.

Potions had seemed very uninteresting to Harry at first, but then he realised that the syllabus prescribed book was nothing but a manual to brew potions. The supplementary book which he had purchased had went into the theory behind each and every step for brewing each and every first-year potion, and Harry had taken a liking to Potions after reading it.

Harry found himself so excited and nervous about boarding the Hogwarts Express (although he kept his face expressionless, it was one of the things he had realised he was very good at) that he arrived at the muggle side of King's Cross Station at 10:00 am on the first of September, an entire hour earlier than the time of departure of the train. He knew that the entrance to platform 9 was a pillar between platforms number 9 and 10, and that he had to step through it, but he was reluctant to try it. Thus, he took a seat which gave him a clear view of the pillar and waited. He received odd looks from a few muggles, who were obviously wondering what a boy like him was doing dressed in funny robes and carrying an owl.

20 minutes later, the wizards and witches started trickling in. They were not hard to miss, as they wore robes and failed miserably to appear inconspicuous. Harry watched with mild amusement as they passed through the barrier as if it were not there, and the muggles did not even look in their direction. _A notice-me-not charm must have been used_ , Harry mused. The charm was vaguely mentioned in his spell book, but it would only be taught in his second year.

With a sigh, Harry steeled himself. He placed the owl cage atop his trunk and pushed his trolley towards the pillar, slowly but surely increasing his pace. His fringe covered his scar and most of his forehead, and there was a very slim chance of the public associating his thin and scrawny self to that of the boy-who-lived. He had initially been very excited and happy due to his fame, but then he had realised that the credit should have gone to his mother for her sacrifice. The dislike for his fame had further increased when he had been swarmed once in Diagon alley when he had been careless, and his scar had been exposed.


	2. The Sorting

Chapter 2

OVOS

Platform 9 and three quarters was as crowded as Harry had expected it to be, even though it was still 11:20 a.m. Witches and Wizards of all ages bustled around, a few vendors were attempting to sell food and drinks, but the Hogwarts Express was what stood out. It was coloured a magenta red and was very long. Although steam bellowed out from the chimney of the train, Harry knew that the train was actually powered by magic. Not wanting to risk anyone noticing him, Harry hauled his trunk with him and stepped inside the train. As expected, the interior of the train was larger than how it appeared from the outside.

Harry lugged his trunk and made his way down the aisle, glancing at the compartments disinterestedly. He wanted to find an empty compartment and sit out the train ride alone. Yes, he wanted to make friends, but it could wait until after he reached Hogwarts. Dudley and his friends had made sure that Harry never had any friends. The longest friendship he had had been with Dylan, the new kid who had transferred to their school, and it had only lasted for a day. Dylan had refused to meet Harry's eyes or talk to him the next day, and the bruise on his forehead was all that Harry needed to conclude that Dudley had been involved.

One compartment in the back of the train caught Harry's eye. It was the expression of the person sitting inside the compartment more than the compartment itself which Harry found himself suddenly interested in. The boy had black hair, just a shade or two lighter than Harry's. His hair was long enough to cover most of his forehead and reached just above his eyebrows. He had pitch black eyes, and a very prominent jaw line, along with a sharp and pointed chin. He was thin, but not as much as Harry. He looked worn and tired, his eyes were dull, and he was unfocusedly staring at the platform through the window.

Harry knocked twice on the compartment door before opening it. The boy looked up sharply at Harry and flinched for some reason.

"May I sit with you?" Harry asked, all thoughts of sitting alone forgotten.

The boy looked confused, trying to wonder why Harry wanted to sit with him.

"Ahh… Sure? Take a seat" He said apprehensively, gesturing the seat across him.

Harry hoisted his trunk atop the rack and sat down.

"So… what's your name?" Harry asked.

The boy just looked at him, weighing his options. He finally sighed and said "Black. Leo Black."

Harry frowned. Where had he heard that name. He vaguely remembered reading somewhere that another Black – Sirius? – had been imprisoned for something. That caused his frown to deepen, before he chastised himself for judging the kid for his family's actions. He schooled his features before he stuck out his right hand.

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter" He had initially decided against telling his full name, but seeing as Black had been honest, he found no reason to hide his identity.

The only sign of surprise on the other boy's face was a slight widening of eyes, and a slight raise of eyebrows. Then, a flash of recognition passed his features.

"You hate all the attention, don't you?" Leo asked.

Harry raised an eyebrow. How had he known?

Leo answered his unanswered question "It's just – I saw you in Diagon alley, although I didn't recognise you, but you seemed to shy away from crowds…" he trailed off, as if afraid that Harry might shout at him or something.

"I can say the same for you, seeing as you are sitting alone in a compartment in the back of the train" Harry said in a questioning tone.

Leo pinked just a bit. "It's just that… people hear my last name and assume that I'm a dark wizard or something. Hell, I didn't even know I was a wizard until a month ago".

This caused Harry's eyebrows to shoot up. Leo was probably the last Black heir, and he didn't know until a month ago that he was a wizard?

"So, you grew up with muggles?" Harry asked.

"Yes… well in an orphanage, actually" Leo said.

Harry wanted to question further, but he restrained himself. After all, he was all too familiar with not wanting to talk about himself.

"Do you want to be friends?" Harry asked casually.

"Really?" Leo asked incredulously "Okay, I guess".

"Alright Leo. Tell me, have you practiced any magic yet?"

"No, I wasn't able to because of the ban on underage magic. Although, I read up most of our first-year books, and a few other books on the wizarding world and genealogy." Leo said with excitement lacing his voice.

"Then you must know that we are distant cousins of sorts?"

Leo's brow furrowed before his eyes widened. "Your grandmother was a Black, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, Dorea Potter nee Black. Though, many wizarding families are related to each other somewhere along the line. Say, are you a pureblood? Not that it matters, I'm a half-blood myself. I'm just curious".

"Nah. My mother, Edith, was a muggleborn. She died after giving birth to me".

There was a very awkward silence in the compartment for a few seconds, with either of them not knowing what to say. Thankfully, they were saved by the arrival of yet another person. She had blond hair which fell past her shoulders, and greenish-blue eyes. Her skin was a pale white, giving her the look of a pretty doll.

"Mind if I sit here? All other compartments are full." She asked hopefully.

"Not at all." Harry said, and Leo nodded.

"I'm Daphne Greengrass" she said in way of introduction after she took a seat next to Harry.

Seeing as Leo was reluctant to introduce himself, Harry went first.

"I'm Harry Potter" he said. Her head snapped suddenly to look at him, and she briefly turned her gaze to his lightning bolt shaped scar.

"You're Harry Potter?" she asked rhetorically, but Harry decided to answer anyway.

"Well, unless I'm mistaken, I'm the only Harry Potter. Not what you were expecting, Huh?" Harry asked amusedly.

"Well, seeing as many people talk about you like you are Merlin reincarnate, I didn't know quite what to expect." She said, shaking her head in disapproval at the fickle minded public "What's your name?" she asked, looking at Leo.

Leo wrung his hands and shifted nervously before a determined expression came upon his face. He sat up straight, with his chest puffed out. He had had enough of people comparing him to his _father,_ and he would be damned if he allowed it to get under his skin.

"I'm Leo Black. Pleased to meet you" he said and both Harry and Leo were surprised when Daphne didn't react. In fact, she just inclined her head in greeting.

By this point, the train had started moving. Harry alternated between looking out of the window at the lush English countryside and joining in on the conversation. Daphne didn't like to talk much about herself – just like the other two boys – but they were able to learn that she was a pureblood with an immense hatred towards the blood-supremacy ideologies and that she had a younger sister named Astoria whom she didn't seem to get along with. She was a good conversationalist though, and she regaled them with tales of her performing accidental magic, which encouraged the two boys to share their own experiences.

The train ride was uneventful, but Harry had a feeling that these moments would define most of his Hogwarts years. Soon, it was evening and the train slowed down when it neared Hogsmeade station. They were one of the first people to leave the train, as they had already been dressed in their unmarked school robes unlike many others.

They heard a loud booming voice, which belonged to a very huge man, "Firs' years! Firs' years! Over here! Follow me".

They did, and were led to a very large water body, which they knew was called the Black Lake. They climbed into one of the boats and were joined by another girl with her hair made up in two pigtails who introduced herself as Hannah Abbot. Her expression was comical when Harry introduced himself, and she seemed about ready to faint when she learned Leo's name.

Hogwarts was breathtaking. The huge castle seemed to thunder over them, looking magnificent against the starry backdrop of the night sky. Harry knew instantly that this was where he belonged. The fact that Harry's parents too had spent 10 months of 7 years of their lives here only added to its appeal.

They were escorted to a set of huge oak double doors. The huge man, who was named Hagrid, knocked on the doors which were opened by a very stoic looking witch wearing a pointed hat. She introduced herself and mentioned the working of the House system.

They were then led into the Great Hall. Harry was totally in awe at the sight that met his eyes. The roof of the Great Hall had been bewitched to make it look like the outside sky, giving off the impression that there was no roof at all. Candles floated above the tables, bathing the entire hall in golden coloured light. The house banners seemed to shine, each proudly displaying their respective house crest. They were asked to await being called for the sorting by Professor McGonagall. Harry watched on as the students were called one by one. He only really paid attention to Leo and Daphne. The hat took just under two minutes to send Leo to Slytherin, while it sent Daphne to Slytherin almost as soon as it touched her head.

Finally, his name was called.

"Potter, Harry"

The whispers broke out, and Harry found that he did not like them at all. Some of them were outright insensitive, but Harry didn't allow that to affect him. Instead, with his head held high and his face expressionless, Harry walked towards the three-legged stool. He sat down, and felt his vision being cut off by the darkness of the interior of the hat.

" _Ah, another Potter. How long I have waited for this!"_ A voice spoke inside his head.

" _Hello, Sorting Hat."_ Harry replied in way of greeting.

It was silent for a few seconds before the hat spoke again.

" _Hmmm. Harry Potter. I am having a hard time deciding. You are definitely brave, and are very noble, the traits of a Gryffindor. You also have a thirst for knowledge; you would do well in Ravenclaw. You don't trust easily, but when you do, you are very faithful. Oh my! You are a parselmouth! And you are ambitious – I see it in you – not to mention your desire to prove yourself and be known for your own achievements. You would do great in Slytherin, but I want to ask you, "where would you like to go?""_

" _Isn't that your job?"_ Harry asked teasingly.

The hat made a sound that was probably a chuckle, but he couldn't be sure.

" _Indeed, young one, but I am willing to take your preferences into consideration"._

" _Well, seeing as my friends are in Slytherin, and the fact that I am a parselmouth, the most logical choice as well as my personal choice is Slytherin."_

" _Very well then. Great things can be expected from you, Mr. Potter. Off you go then, to – "_

"SLYTHERIN"

There was a stunned silence in the great hall. Nobody could have expected to see the boy-who-lived sorted into the House known to be avid believers of blood superiority, and which was known for being the house that produced the most Death Eaters. Harry didn't care about any of this though. He was in the same house as his friends, and that was all that mattered to him. Harry vaguely realised that his unmarked robes and tie were now green and silver, and he found himself liking the colour combination. Leo started clapping then, and was followed by Daphne, who was followed by the rest of Slytherin house and everyone else. He made his way to the Slytherin table and took a seat in between a beaming Daphne and Leo.

Dumbledore stood up, and jovially told the students to tuck in, ending his sentence with 'Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Any doubts Harry had about Dumbledore's sanity were instantly confirmed.

"Is he mad?" Leo asked, leaning forward slightly to reach the pudding.

"Must be" Daphne said, and Harry chuckled.

Harry looked at the staff table, inspecting the teachers. Professor McGonagall was looking at him as if wanting to figure him out. Another man with a hooked nose and greasy hair was glaring at him with a sneer on his face that reminded Harry of a bat. Immediately Harry felt a small foreign tug at his mind, and he reflexively pushed the tug out of his mind, unconsciously slamming down on barriers which he would not learn existed until later. He knew that the man was somehow responsible for it but didn't know how or what it was. A brief look of shock flickered across the Professor's face, but he schooled his face into an expressionless mask. Harry allowed his gaze to sweep across the other Professors sitting at the Head table, before it finally came to rest on a Professor wearing a turban. Immediately, he felt a very slight pain in his scar which reduced to an itch almost immediately. He paid it no heed, though.

The food and cutlery vanished after dinner, and Dumbledore stood up to make the start of term speech, with Harry paying close attention to the it. Harry could understand the reasoning behind ordered to stay away from the forbidden forest, but he was confused as to why exactly Dumbledore wanted the students to stay away from the third-floor corridor unless they wanted to die a very painful and gruesome death. If Dumbledore wanted to keep students away, why announce it to them instead of using magic to keep them away? Also, why would something which could cause such a horrifying death be kept in a school for children? Harry shook his head before getting up and following a prefect with the rest of his housemates.

The Slytherin common room was located in the dungeons, the entrance being a stone wall that shimmered and vanished when the password (purity – Harry and Leo scoffed at this) was spoken. The Slytherin common room was exactly how Harry had expected it to be. It was long with a low ceiling, and the oil lamps on the wall bathed the room with a green tinged light, which was the result of the room being located below the Black Lake. The room was decorated with green and silver banners, along with the Slytherin House crest. There were stone sculptures of snakes almost everywhere, and two or more winding snakes also made up the legs of the armchairs and tables. Harry found the common room homely and inviting, and he suppressed the urge to yawn as he was feeling sleepy.

"Harry Potter." A voice drawled to his left, and Harry turned his head "I'm Draco Malfoy."

_Ah. A Malfoy. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Lucius Malfoy was 'an upstanding member of society who was forced to take the Dark Mark under the influence of the imperius'._

"Pleased to meet you, Malfoy" Harry said politely, shaking the blonde boy's outstretched hand. He would extend him the same courtesy of not judging him for his father's actions as he had for Leo, but something in the other boy's tone told him that he would be disappointed.

"You will realise, Potter, that some people's blood is purer than others." At this, Draco not-so-subtly glanced at Leo "I can help you befriend the right sort".

_There go my hopes._

The irony that Draco 'overlooked' the fact that Harry himself was a half-blood was not lost on Harry.

"I don't need your help, Malfoy. I have already befriended the right sort. I think it is you who need help" Harry said casually, pointedly looking at the two fat boys who were stood flanking Draco with confused expressions on their faces. They reminded Harry of Dudley.

Malfoy seethed. "You dare refuse my offer – "

"Yes, I dare, Malfoy." Harry said with a sigh. He was quickly getting tired of this conversation and wanted to go to sleep. Moreover, he didn't want the memory of his first day in Hogwarts to be tarnished. He felt, for the first time in his life, that he belonged here, despite the people staring and gawking at him and all the whispers.

"Wait till my father hears about this, Potter!" Malfoy said, and stormed away.

Harry turned and saw that Leo and Daphne were wearing amused expressions on their faces, although Leo looked concerned.

"Please tell me we are not going to have to share a room with them for the next 7 years!" Leo groaned and pointed at Malfoy and his cronies. A prefect heard them and informed them that two people would be bunking in one room, and Harry and Leo let out a sigh of relief.

Just then, the stone entrance shimmered once again before the greasy haired professor stormed in with his black robes billowing behind him. Harry assumed that it was a way to intimidate the new students (it seemed to be working as a few firsties cowered), but Harry just thought that it made his likeness to a bat more pronounced.

"I am Severus Snape, the Potions Professor and your Head of House." He started, his eyes sweeping over the assembled first years. He continued rather bluntly, "You will always uphold the nobility of our house by maintaining discipline at all times. You will strive to perform your best in academics, gaining house points in the process. You will always reach classes in time and will allow no room for anyone to deduct points. Our house has a bad reputation, and you will do nothing to encourage or further it. You will not get caught doing anything that may lead to a loss of house points, or detention, or anything else that will tarnish our name. Else, you will serve detentions with me." This caused some first years to shudder. "Many from the other houses, mainly Gryffindor, have a misconception that all Slytherins are evil" He sneered at this, "It would do you good to remember that we pride ourselves in our resourcefulness, cunning, and self-preservation. I will look the other way whenever you break rules, but only if you do not get caught in the process. I will be forced to take disciplinary measures if not. Go to sleep now, and do not be late tomorrow." He finished, and stormed out of the common room the same way he had come in.

"Wow! That was some intense drama" Leo said, and Daphne nodded, still trying to comprehend what Professor Snape had said. Harry yawned, and they bid goodnight to Daphne before they entered their dorm room and were asleep almost as soon as their faces hit their pillows.

OVOS

Albus Dumbledore watched amusedly as the potions professor paced back and forth in his office with barely restrained frustration and ire, muttering under his breath. He had been doing that since he had arrived in Dumbledore's office, without giving any explanation whatsoever. After a few more seconds, Dumbledore decided to twist the already metaphorically impaled knife further.

"Are you perchance concerned about the Potter Heir, Severus?" He asked, and the look on Snape's face was something that would make him chuckle at the most random of instances for years to come. Now, though, he feigned innocence.

"CONCERNED? Why would I be concerned about the Potter brat? Of all the houses he could have gone to, did he have to come to mine?" he asked rhetorically, taking a seat across Dumbledore and allowing his head to drop to his hands.

Dumbledore had admittedly been a little surprised when Harry had been sorted into Slytherin, but looking back to his first meeting with the boy, he should have expected it.

"It seems that fate has its own sense of justice" Dumbledore said in that cryptic way of his which caused Snape to let out a small growl.

"He's a bloody natural Occlumens, Albus! "

"Ah! I was wondering when you would come to that".

Snape's face snapped up so fast that the crack was audible.

"You knew!? YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL ME?"

"Calm down, Severus" Dumbledore was used to dealing with Snape's anger outbursts, having faced them all throughout the first year of Snape teaching Potions.

Snape took a few deep breaths, reinforcing his Occlumency barriers and getting his emotions in check.

"Now tell me your observations of the boy".

Snape glared at him, but answered nevertheless. "He seems to be the same arrogant ponce as his father was – "

Dumbledore, sensing a rant coming, interrupted. "Not now, Severus".

Snape huffed, but continued. "He is a natural Occlumens, which you already know. His shields are present, but are very weak. I attempted only a half-hearted probe, but he was able to push me out, which was only because he caught me unawares. He seems to be friendly with the Greengrass girl and the Black Heir." Snape sneered at the name 'Black'. His memories of another Black were still fresh in his mind even after all these years. He was also a bit jealous about the Potter brat, not that he would ever admit it to himself. Natural Occlumens were rare, and they could learn the mind arts easier than an average witch or wizard.

Dumbledore frowned at this. He had sent a summons to Snape to discuss mainly about Harry and Mr. Black.

"His friendship with the Black heir concerns me, Severus, but I will not interfere. I have already done that once, and I regret it sorely. We can only hope that Harry is a good judge of character. You must keep an eye on him though, and I hope you will not allow your bias to cloud your observations. I think it is time I am claimed to the land of Morpheus" he said. Snape, recognising the dismissal, merely gave a short nod and left the office. Dumbledore popped a lemon sherbet into his mouth before heading to bed.

OVOS

Harry woke up at 5:30 a.m. Waking up early had become a habit for Harry as he had to cook breakfast for the Dursleys. Now, though, he didn't have anything to do. He decided to go for a run around the Black Lake, something that he hoped would be helpful in giving him the much-needed exercise.

Harry was panting halfway through the lap and knowing that he wouldn't be able to run anymore, he went back to his dorm room. Leo was still sleeping, but awoke when Harry slammed the bathroom door when he went to take a shower.

Leo and Harry made their way to the common room where they were met by Daphne. The trio followed a prefect to the Great Hall for breakfast as they didn't have any experience with navigating the hallways and the shifting staircases.

After breakfast was done, Professor Snape handed them their class schedules, reserving a sneer for Harry. The first class was Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, and Harry was eager to perform his best in the class. The fear that other students who had grown up in the Wizarding world would be far more skilled and would do better than him haunted him, and he could only hope that he would be an average student.

He was therefore surprised when he was the only one who managed to transfigure his matchstick into a needle perfectly on his first try.

"Mr. Potter! I never expected anyone to be able to manage the transfiguration in one class, let alone on their first try! Why, it seems that you have inherited your father's transfiguration skills! 20 points to Slytherin" Professor McGonagall praised him with a rare smile, and Harry beamed. He had not only exceeded the expectations of the Professor, but also had learned a new piece of information about his Dad.

Having nothing else to do, Harry helped Leo and Daphne in their own transfigurations. All the while, a Gryffindor girl with very bushy hair and two buck teeth kept glaring at him. By the end of the class, Leo had managed an almost complete transfiguration, while Daphne had managed to turn her match to a half-needle. The Gryffindor girl had only managed a partial transfiguration.

The next class was Charms, again with the Gryffindors. Whispers followed him all the way from the transfiguration classroom to the Charms classroom, but he paid them no heed. Filius Flitwick, a very short wizard, was their Charms Professor. He demonstrated a variety of spells which left the class impressed, and Harry was now more eager to learn as much as he could.

Harry was put off when Professor Flitwick announced that they would be studying theory before they attempted the first spell, the levitation charm. Harry had already performed this spell both wandlessly and wordlessly, and thus continued to read the Charms book from where he had left off, which was a few pages after the middle.

History of Magic was by far the most boring subject. The professor was a ghost by the name Binns, who droned on and on about Goblin wars. Harry was disappointed that the subject which was named 'History of Magic' didn't teach the history of magic, but the History of wizard-goblin wars.

_It would have been interesting to learn about the evolution of magic over the years._

DADA was a joke because Professor Quirrell stuttered a lot, so much that Harry and most other students had difficulty in understanding what he was saying. His scar prickled whenever he was in his DADA class, and Harry assumed that it was just due to the smell of garlics. Harry decided to study on his own for the subject. There was a nagging question in his mind which begged to be asked. He had heard and read words like 'Dark Arts', 'Dark wizard', 'Dark magic' and the like. This confused Harry. What exactly were the dark arts? What was the criteria that divided 'Light magic' from 'Dark magic'? He didn't know who to ask, and thus, ignored it.

Harry realised over the course of the first week that almost all students who were raised by magical parents had not done much magic. He also observed that many students had no thirst to learn new magic and were bored of many classes. For Harry, magic was his most valued possession, the only thing that made him feel special, the thing that set him apart from Dudley, Piers, his relatives, all the students that had not wanted to befriend him for his 'freakishness', and the teaches who did nothing to stop the bullying.

Harry eagerly awaited the first Potions class, which was a double period on Friday. Daphne was the only one who shared his enthusiasm, though. Professor Snape had a very bad reputation of being too strict and unforgiving, and many first years had already started to resent him. Harry and Daphne were not deterred, but Leo was wary. Daphne had a love for potions as selling Potions was her family's business. When Leo asked her whether one of her parents had taught her, her expression had darkened slightly before she had replied that her grandmother had been the one to encourage her and guide her in Potion brewing. Harry didn't miss the bittersweet smile which came upon her face when she had spoken, although Leo seemed oblivious to it

Leo's only interests were transfiguration, Charms and DADA, which he claimed was real magic unlike Potion brewing. Harry didn't think so, but he didn't want to argue with the adamant boy. He had been very excited to start brewing Potions and wouldn't allow even Snape to ruin it.

T.B.C.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the ffn user TheHPFanEV for the beta work


	3. Potions and Quidditch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head over to https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13584498/1/Our-Very-Own-Side to get chapter updates as soon as I finish writing them. I'm only posting already beta'd chapters here

Chapter 3

OVOS

Severus Snape sneered at the first year Gryffindor/Slytherin Potions students. They were nothing but a bunch of dunderheads, incapable of understanding the intricacies and the finesse required in the art of Potion brewing. The only other person who he knew with such a deep-rooted love for Potions had been Lily Evans (He still refused to call her Lily Potter), and now he had to teach her son.

He took in a breath before he gave his customary speech about the beauty of potion brewing. His eyes swept over the students. Most of them had confused expressions on their faces, clearly indicating that his speech had done nothing to pique their interests and had gone right over their heads.

Except three people, that is. Granger was the first person he noticed was clearly interested. It was hard not to notice, as her eyes were wide with excitement and she was tapping her feet in impatience. A shame that she was in Gryffindor. The other two people were Greengrass and Potter. Greengrass was drumming the fingers of her left hand on the sides of the cauldron while twirling the ladle with her right. Potter, though, was the calmest and most collected. He was composed, showing no indication that he was excited. His face was expressionless, but it was his eyes that gave him away. Oh! Those eyes which were the same almond-shaped and green coloured as Lily's were gleaming brightly the same way Lily's had when he had told her about magic. Unable to look into those eyes, he quickly diverted his gaze to the Weasley boy.

"Weasley! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"I… Um… - "

Granger's hand shot into the air, while Harry raised his hand more gracefully.

"Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"I… I don't know, sir"

Granger stood up and waved her hand in the air.

_What is her problem? Can't she give it a rest?_

"Tut, tut, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"I –" Weasley began

"5 points from Gryffindor! Potter!"

"Powdered root of asphodel and an infusion of wormwood are the main components of a sleeping potion which is so powerful that it is called the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat, which is a cure for many poisons. Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same genus, but two different species. Another species of the same genus is aconite. All three of these can be used in the brewing of a potion that helps a werewolf maintain its mind during the transformations, but Wolfsbane is most commonly used as the time taken to brew the potion reduces significantly if it's used."

Snape was slightly impressed, not that he would ever admit it. His hate for Potter wouldn't abate, though.

"10 points to Slytherin." He said, the corners of his mouth turning upward , what if it was Potter who had answered correctly? It gave him reason to give points to his own house and that's all he cared. "Why aren't you all copying that down?"

The sound of many quills scratching could be heard before the class fell silent once again.

With a flick of his wand, Snape cancelled the concealment charm on the blackboard, revealing the instructions to brew a simple potion to cure boils.

"You have until end of class to brew this potion! Get working, NOW!"

Snape watched disinterestedly as the students milled around the classroom in a hurry to get the potions ingredients. 20 minutes passed, and Snape decided to inspect their progress. He walked to the Gryffindor side first, criticising them for every small detail. Granger had the best of them all, but even hers wasn't perfect.

He then went about inspecting the Slytherin workstations. Malfoy's potion was acceptable, but Crabbe's and Goyle's looked more like wet mud. How they managed to get a Hogwarts letter was beyond him.

Greengrass' potion was just a shade darker than the milky white it was supposed to be at the halfway stage, a nearly perfect brew in his opinion, but Potter was still a few steps behind.

"What are you doing, Potter? Can you not read the instructions? You were supposed to add the Flobberworm mucus already and stir 5 times clockwise!"

Potter just looked up from his cauldron with an 'Are you serious?' look.

"Adding the Flobberworm mucus immediately after adding the dried nettle will not allow the magic of the two to mix properly, Professor. Dried nettles have a high magic discharge point, and thus need to be heated a few more minutes than the book specifies. The Flobberworm mucus must be added after the potion attains the milky white hue, which is the telltale sign of the nettles dissolving in the potion completely. If stirred 5 times only, the Flobberworm mucus will leave lumps. Thus, it must be stirred 6 times in the clockwise direction and 1 time in the counterclockwise direction for the potion to then attain a magenta colour, before adding the powdered ginger root." Harry said "Else, it cannot be used for medical purposes. Surely you would know this, wouldn't you, Professor?" He completed almost rhetorically.

The students let out a collective gasp, awaiting the beratement from the Professor. It never came because Snape was too stunned to react. The directions which he had given were the most basic, and he hadn't expected anyone to perfectly brew the potion, let alone actually understand the theory behind it and make modifications to it. He was outright impressed with the son of Lily Evans now, but he still couldn't look at the boy with anything but hate, especially when he looked a lot like James Potter.

"10 points to Slytherin." He finally said and moved away, shocking himself as well as the rest of the class. Many just chalked it off to bias and went about their work with sour and disappointed looks on their face, but Harry had seen the mental battle in the man's eyes, and the brief flash of hatred and anger. What had he done to cause Snape to hate him? Snape had been rude to him ever since he had set foot in Hogwarts. He would dwell on it later. He had to concentrate on his potion now and thus, pushed all thoughts except that of the potion out of his head.

OVOS

"Snape is worse than I thought" Leo admitted as soon as they stepped out of the classroom.

Harry agreed with this. Snape was biased against the Gryffindors for no apparent reason, and Harry was thankful that he wasn't in Gryffindor. His method of teaching was something that irked Harry. Leaving the instructions on the board and berating the students rather than helping them wasn't the right thing to do, in Harry's opinion

"I want to visit the library. Want to come?" Harry asked, and Leo and Daphne nodded.

It took longer than expected to reach the library. The library was huge, huger than any Library he had ever seen. There were shelves upon shelves of books sorted according to topic. Harry walked in between the shelves, drinking in the sight of the sheer number of tomes and breathing in the smell of old parchment. His excitement must have shown, because Leo asked, "Are you sure you aren't a Ravenclaw?"

"Well, the hat didn't know which house to put me in as I supposedly had the traits of all four houses. In the end, it told me I would do great in Slytherin and asked my preference."

"Really? It considered putting me in Hufflepuff before finally deciding Slytherin" Leo said as he flipped through the pages of a book on Quidditch.

"What about you, Daphne?" Harry asked. Daphne, who was looking at Newt Scamander's book on magical creatures, lifted her head and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"It suggested Ravenclaw or Slytherin but settled on Slytherin in the end." She said.

Harry excused himself to head over to the section of magical theory. He still wanted to know the importance of wand movements and searched for the right book. Finally spotting a book which seemed far simpler than the others Harry picked it up and checked it out of the library for later reading. They didn't have any other classes for the rest of the day and thus, spent their time lazing around. That night, after Leo went to sleep, Harry drew the curtains close around his bed, opened the book, and started reading it in the illumination of a _lumos._

**The importance of wand and wrist movements and spell incantations have been overlooked by many witches and wizards. But to understand this concept, an understanding of magic is required. I will try my best to keep the explanation as simple as possible.**

**The magic in young witches and wizard is unrestrained, reckless, and uncontrolled. In times of desperation, or fear, or anger, the magic of the child reacts to the need or intent of the child by lashing out and carrying out its duty, that is, to serve its wielder. This is what is commonly known as accidental magic. Accidental magic is very different from wandless magic despite the common assumptions, but we will get to that later.**

**When a person is about 11 years of age, their magic starts to become… tame. Therefore, magical schooling begins at this age.**

**It is unknown whether some people are more magically powerful than others, or if there is a measure of one's magical power, but the most widely accepted theory is Widdelburg's theory of Magical Affinity. This theory was first formulated by Henry Widdelburg and was later given more credibility by Jose Santuigo. In short, the theory states that all magical humans have the same amount of magic in them, but what makes some wizards more powerful than others is their magical affinity.**

**What is magical affinity, you might ask. The answer is simple, yet complicated, because there is no set definition for magical affinity. To help you understand this term, I will compare magic to water in a well. Imagine that the water is very, very deep. Magical affinity is your ability to reach as near to the water as possible. Every witch and wizard have the same amount of water in their well, but their affinity to their magic is what matters. Wandless ability is a tell-tale sign of high magical affinity, but accidental magic is not. Wandless magic is like you seeking out the water in the well, but accidental magic is like the water coming out of the well to aid the wielder in times of need.**

**Wizards like Grindelwald, Dumbledore and even You-Know-Who are said to have the most magical affinity in current times, as is seen by their prowess in wandless magic. This might make you question, 'If they have high magical affinities and have the ability to do magic wandlessly, why do they need wands?' to answer this question, we need to learn the difference between how wandless magic and magic through wands draw magic. It's important to note that this is just a theory with very less proof, but the most likely and most accepted one nonetheless.**

**Imagine that there are two ways to draw water from a well. The first option is dipping a palm into the water and scooping it out. Keep in mind that we are talking about a wizard with great magical affinity. Let's say he can achieve the above option by lengthening his arm to whatsoever length desired to reach the surface of water which is deep in the ground. The next option is to use a bucket with a rope tied to its handle, and the rope passed through a pulley.**

**The first option is like wandless magic. Yes, you can draw the water without using any external object, but the water you obtain will not only be of very small quantity, but some amount of it will also drop from between your fingers. Thus, wandless magic is barely used as a self-sufficient means of casting magic by those who have mastered it.**

**The second option is like using a wand. In this case, let us compare the bucket with the rope attached to it to the wand. Now, the wand is used not only to draw magic from within us, but also to channel it with only the right amount of magic required. Yes, wand and wrist movements are not compulsory but are a vital part of drawing out magic. Spell incantations are responsible** **for moulding** **the pure, raw magic from our bodies to the necessary spell required to complete the required tasks, but they too can be replaced by speaking the incantation in the mind. Many witches and wizards do not use wand movemnts to cast spells for day-to-day use because it is inconvenient and not worth the trouble. But during duels, wand movements are very crucial to not only conserve power but also to weave together spell chains…**

Feeling sleepy, Harry closed the book and removed his glasses. The book had been very helpful in giving the clarity which he needed, but a few things he had not understood. Yawning, Harry fell back onto his bed and fell asleep.

OVOS

The news that flying lessons for the first years were scheduled in the afternoon was met with a lot of excitement. The only thing that ruined the mood was the sulking of the Gryffindors as they complained about having it with the Slytherins. Harry honestly couldn't fault them. Not only was their Head of House a surly, biased git, but people like Malfoy and his cronies wouldn't stop taunting the Gryffindors.

They also had to endure Malfoy's incessant boasting.

"I just hope nothing bad happens. I really want to learn how to fly properly" Leo said with less hope than he wanted to convey.

"I have flown a broom before, and I don't want to do it ever again" Daphne said with a shudder.

Harry hummed absentmindedly. He was unsure what to make of flying a broom. On one hand, it seemed dangerous. _Also, how comfortable would it be to ride a narrow piece of wood? Not much…_ On the other hand, it seemed fun and reckless. He had overheard that there was a sport played involving brooms and balls called Kwidich (Or was it Quititch? He wasn't sure) He had only excelled at P.E. and running away from Dudley, but that was mainly because his Uncle had forbidden him from joining any sports in primary school.

Soon, they found themselves making their way to the Hogwarts grounds. 20 brooms had been arranged in two rows of 10 and Madam Hooch stood in front.

"Hurry up! Stand next to a broom!" she said.

Harry stood between Leo and Daphne and awaited further instructions from Hooch.

"Hold out your hand above the broom and say 'UP'"

Harry held out his hand and was about to wandlessly summon it when he realised that he could… _feel_ the magic in the broom. As soon as he felt it, the broom shot into his hand without even an 'UP' required. Frowning in thought, Harry missed the impressed looks from many others who were not able to catch their brooms even by saying 'UP'

"Mount your respective brooms" she said "Be careful now"

Harry mounted the broom and was surprised when it didn't feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, it was soft. Obviously, magic was involved. He would research that later. Now, he concentrated on the weird feeling he was getting. The best way to describe it would be to tell that his magic had somehow attached itself to the broom.

"Rise a few feet off the ground, carefully and slowly."

Harry didn't know how to do it. At first, he considered pulling the nose of the broom upwards. But that would mean that the rear end of the broom would still be pointing downwards, and he would be inclined at almost a 45-degree angle. Instead, he considered the second option. He allowed his magic to guide the broom upwards. And to his amazement, it actually worked! He glanced around, and then downwards, and noticed that he was the first one to rise. Madam Hooch gave him a look that was a mixture of approval and warning.

Leo followed soon after Harry, and he was followed by many others. He noticed Daphne sitting on a broom and absolutely refusing to fly upwards and chuckled slightly. Leo seemed to have noticed too because he grinned in amusement.

Longbottom seemed to have the worst luck of them all. His broom was very reluctant to bow to his needs, and he was rising and rising and rising with his broom jerking backwards and forwards before he finally slipped right off the tail end of the broom and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Idiot boy! Didn't I tell you to be careful?!" Madam Hooch said in a harsh tone as she rushed towards Longbottom, but her tone softened then "Are you alright? Oh! A broken wrist; we need to get you to the hospital wing. Poppy can fix this in a jiffy"

"I will not tolerate any mischief from you lot" she said, shooting a glare at the assembled students.

Hardly had she left when Malfoy decided to make a nuisance of himself.

"Oh look! The squib has dropped his remembrall!" he said as if it were the biggest secret ever. Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe snickered along with Pansy Parkinson. Millicent Bulstrode stood quietly with Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini.

Malfoy picked up the remembrall. "This would look better in another place – a tree for example" he said with a smirk and flew upwards on his broom.

"Give it back, Malfoy" the Indian girl, Parvati Patil, said and the Gryffindors nodded their heads

Insulting Gryffindors was one thing but insulting them behind their back and stealing was something Harry refused to put up with. Malfoy's behaviour brought back old memories of Dudley bullying him, memories of the teachers and students turning a blind eye, and Harry decided that he would not be one of the silent onlookers.

"You have 5 seconds to return the remembrall to one of the Gryffindors, Malfoy." Harry drawled, twirling his wand in his hand. "I didn't expect a 'person of your station' to be a petty thief" he finished with an exaggerated disappointed shake of his head.

Malfoy spluttered, and the Gryffindors stared at him as if he had grown a second head. It was beyond them as to why a Slytherin was opposing Malfoy. Little did they know about Harry's childhood, let alone experience a similar one.

"You are going against your own house, Potter?" Malfoy asked

Harry had originally considered using a simple _Wingardium Leviosa_ to bring Malfoy down thanks to his limited spell knowledge, but he was not sure whether he could handle such a big mass. Thus, he found himself rising upwards on his broom.

"No Malfoy. I am going against you. Hand over the remembrall" Harry said. He was at the same height as Malfoy now.

"Do you want it so badly, Potter? Catch it then" he said smugly and threw the remembrall.

Harry didn't know what made him do it. It was probably Malfoy's smug smile. Or the challenge. Before he knew it, he had dived after the remembrall. The broom felt more like an extension of himself than like a tool. The wind was making his robes billow with a whoosh. Harry had never felt such excitement or joy before. He could feel his heart beating against his chest with heavy thuds. He could feel his blood coursing through his body. He was now only 20 feet above the ground and the remembrall was just out of his reach. 15 feet. The remembrall was only a foot away from his outstretched right hand. 10 feet. His fingertips brushed against the surface of the remembrall. 5 feet. His hand closed around the remembrall and he pulled out of the dive with inches to spare. His feet slightly brushed against the grass tips before he came to a halt.

"Give it to Longbottom." Harry said while handing the remembrall to an open-mouthed Parvati Patil. Harry's thoughts were still on the exhilarating experience, and thus he failed to note the looks of awe on the faces of the students.

"Potter! Come with me!" The voice of Professor McGonagall cut through his dazed state.

Harry followed Professor McGonagall without protesting. He had heard of Professor McGonagall's anger, and he decided that staying shut was the best option.

Soon, they reached Professor McGonagall's office. She beckoned him inside and closed the door after he had taken a seat. For a few minutes, she sat in her seat glaring at him. Harry faltered a bit under her gaze. Finally, she let out a soft sigh.

"I have every right to take 50 points from your house, Potter." Harry sighed. Snape would have his hide now. "However, you promoted house unity by standing up for Longbottom. For that, Slytherin can take 10 points" Harry smiled. "Also, I have never seen such marvelous flying since the times of your father and Charlie Weasley, Potter. Was it your first time flying a broom?"

Harry beamed at the praise. "Yes, Professor. I have never ridden a broom before. You said my father was a good flier too…"

"Of course! James was the best chaser Gryffindor had seen in many years! And it clearly looks like you have his talent. You really should try out for your house team, Potter. Although I would recommend the position of seeker for you"

"Thank you, Professor." Harry said and gave a very charming smile.

"That doesn't mean you will go unpunished, Potter. Detention with me at 8:00 pm every day for a week."

Harry's smile slipped off his face, and his jaw hung open. He swore he saw the usually stoic Professor's lip twitch in amusement.

Regaining his composure, he asked, "Umm… Could you tell me more about my parents?" He continued "I learnt that they were both Gryffindors, and I don't know much about them except that I look like my father and have my mother's eyes."

McGonagall's face turned sad. Her eyes glistened just a bit before she nodded. "That's what we'll do during your detentions, Potter. Off you go now." She said and shooed him out of her office.

OVOS

Harry found himself getting bored in most classes. Potions and Transfiguration were the only classes that were interesting. In potions class, Harry would experiment and modify the simple potions. In transfiguration, Professor McGonagall assigned him transfigurations beyond the level of his schoolmates to keep him occupied, much to the chagrin of Granger. Charms was boring because the rest of the students were still practicing the simplest charm which made objects move along a surface.

Harry either used History of Magic class to read ahead on Charms or Transfiguration or skipped it altogether (with Leo and Daphne joining him) to visit the library. The ghost Professor Binns did not even remember the names of the students, let alone if they were attending class.

Harry didn't care much about Herbology or Astronomy. Both were immensely boring, and had very little if not any magic involved.

All this led to Harry making his way to the Quidditch pitch on the day of the house team try-outs. He had read up about Quidditch in the library, and it was a sport he would really like to try his hands at. A shame that he couldn't get on the house team till second year.

Harry noticed students in green and silver robes whizzing by on brooms which looked a lot better than the school ones. He noticed Flint, the Quidditch captain, giving out orders and cursing occasionally. From what little conversation Harry could hear from the ground, he deduced that only two people had applied for the position of seeker, and both of them were not up to the mark.

Watching all those people fly began to make him want to get back on a broom and fly to his heart's content. 15 minutes later, the urge was uncontrolled. Spotting an old school broom, Harry walked towards it.

The broom's twigs were bent in odd angles and it was in dire need of polishing, but it was in a better condition than the one he had flown earlier. He noticed the broom company and model, a _Nimbus 1700,_ before he mounted it and took off.

He flew a bit near the edge of the pitch for a while, getting accustomed to the broom. He even tried a few dives and moves, unaware of a curious pair of eyes following his every movement.

Suddenly, Harry spotted a tiny golden blur to his right. Recognising it as snitch, Harry took after it.

He sped behind the snitch with his body pressed as tight to the broom as possible to reduce wind resistance. The snitch, unlike the remembrall, kept moving in completely unpredictable directions and did its best to stay out of his grasp. But Harry wasn't one to give up so easily.

The snitch suddenly dived towards the ground, and Harry followed. The nose of the broom was now pointing towards the ground. The snitch was faster than the remembrall, going faster both due to the acceleration due to gravity and its own acceleration.

Just as the snitch was about to either crash into the ground or change directions, Harry caught it in his right hand and pulled out of the dive. He almost crashed into the ground but lifted the nose of the broom just in time. This dive had been way more dangerous than his previous one, but it was also more exhilarating, and Harry couldn't help a large grin from breaking out on his face.

"Bloody Hell, Potter! Are you out of your mind! Who taught you to fly like that?!" Flint asked rhetorically as he came running towards Harry. He had been watching Potter for a while now and had nearly fainted when he saw Potter going in for the dive.

Harry just shrugged

Flint was pacing in front of him now, muttering under his breath.

"Say, Potter, how would you like to be the seeker for Slytherin?"

"I would love to… wait – you mean this year? But isn't that not allowed?"

"It isn't, but we should be able to somehow circumvent the rule…"

"What rule exactly prevents me from joining?" Harry asked, putting on his thinking cap

"Rules – there are two of them. The first one is that which doesn't allow first years to get brooms to school. The second one explicitly states that first years cannot join the house teams unless approved by the Headmaster… the first one won't be a problem because you can use someone else's broom but it will be almost impossible to get Dumbledore's permission" Flint said, his brow furrowed in thought.

"I am pretty sure Dumbledore will give the permission" Harry said with a smirk. He would probably go to great lengths to gain back Harry's trust, and it was this which would work in Harry's favour.

Flint didn't look satisfied with Harry's statement.

"Trust me, Flint, the only problem will be our dear Head of House."

"I can deal with him" Flint said

"Dumbledore won't be a problem. Thank you, by the way"

Flint waved it off. "No, thank _you._ You fly excellently, and now you are our only hope for winning the quidditch cup once again. You just need training. I'll give you the schedule later."

Harry nodded and walked away.

OVOS

As expected, Snape put up a lot of resistance when Flint came to him with the idea of making Harry the seeker. It took Flint a lot of convincing Snape about Harry's talent, along with the warning that Slytherin may not be able to win the house cup to finally get him to budge, although begrudgingly.

Dumbledore agreed as soon as Snape brought up the request. He had no reason not to, seeing as Harry was at the top of his year academically, had no detention records (the one with McGonagall was unofficial) and had gained many points for his house.

"You are WHAT!" Leo asked incredulously when Harry told them the news at dinner, making several people turn towards them.

"Shhh… I am the Slytherin seeker. Like I told you, I got selected by Flint and approved by the Headmaster"

"You must be the youngest seeker in about a century!" This time it was Daphne who failed to keep out the incredulous tone from her voice.

"Yes, yes I am. I thought you didn't like flying?" Harry asked.

Daphne blushed just a bit. "Well, I like Quidditch."

"How can you like Quidditch and not flying?" Leo asked.

Daphne muttered something under her breath.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

She muttered louder, but not enough to be heard.

"A bit louder, Daphne"

"I'm scared of heights, alright?"

Leo choked on his pudding. Daphne glared at him with her icy blue eyes narrowed.

"Little Daph is scared of heights!" Harry chided jokingly.

"Don't call me that!"

"What, you don't want us to call you Daph?" Leo asked.

"No… I mean yes… Arggghh! Don't call me Daph"

"Alright, Daph. We won't call you Daph"

"Shut up! morons"

That was how the nickname for Daphne was born, and the boys made it their personal mission to refer to her by that.

T.B.C.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the ffn user TheHPFanEV for the beta work


	4. The Trap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted chapter 3 twice by mistake, so here's the actual chapter 4. Also, please don't hesitate to comment. Constructive criticism and praise is much appreciated.

Chapter 4

OVOS

Just as Harry and his friends were about to leave to their common room after dinner, Malfoy and his cronies interrupted them.

"How dare you embarrass me, Potter!"

Harry sighed.

"It was you who embarrassed yourself, Malfoy. You can boast all you want but we both know Harry is a better flier than you" Leo said.

"Who cares about flying? I am way better at magic and duelling then any filthy half-blood" Malfoy sneered.

"Is that a challenge, Malfoy?" Harry asked, setting the cutlery down and wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Yes. Wizards duel at midnight."

"Accepted. My second is Leo. Who's yours?"

Leo spluttered as Daphne looked on. "But Harry I can't – "

"Mine is Gregory. Meet me at the trophy room" Malfoy said with a smug smile and walked away.

Harry ignored Leo and Daphne's protests until they stopped pestering him about it, knowing it to be a failed cause. Daphne bid them goodnight and Leo was about to walk up to their dorm room when he noticed Harry's disappearance. Shaking his head in frustration and amusement at his friend's quirks, he went to sleep after setting his alarm for 11:45 p.m.

Leo woke up when his alarm rang, making him groan. Then he remembered the reason he had woken up, and turned towards Harry's bed. He got up and pulled apart the curtains covering Harry's bed and was met with the sight of Harry thrashing about and groaning. Harry was muttering incomprehensibly, and Leo knew that he was suffering from a nightmare.

All thoughts of the duel forgotten and replaced by concern, Leo gently shook Harry and softly called out his name. A few seconds later, Harry slowly calmed down and opened his eyes.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Leo asked

Harry seemed dazed, confused and a bit scared for a second, but then his eyes focused and he spoke in a raspy voice.

"Yes. Just a nightmare."

"Harry, we need to go to the trophy room for the duel in 10 minutes. I don't know why you signed me up, and I am a bit angry, but I will accompany you."

Harry was touched by his friend's words. "No need to be angry. Did you seriously think that Malfoy was actually going to keep his word?"

"But he challenged you!" Leo said

"And it was a setup!" Harry countered.

"What if it wasn't? Malfoy won't let us live it down" Leo said.

"I know it is, and I have turned it on him now." Harry said.

"What did you do?" Leo asked, not sure whether to believe Harry or not.

Harry patted the boy on the arm. "You'll see" was all he said before he yawned and went back to sleep.

Leo huffed and went back to his own bed.

OVOS

The trap had been set. Draco knew that he would have his revenge soon. He had waited till 11:30 pm to tip off Filch the caretaker that a few people would be wandering around in the trophy room after hours. Filch had been so excited by the prospect of catching children red handed that he had believed Draco outright without making an effort to check whether the tip was genuine. Now, Potter and the half-blood Black would get caught. Father had always told him to be cunning, and that was what he was. Or so he thought.

Draco had not taken into consideration the fact that Harry might see right through his act. He had also not considered that Harry would be tailing him and his suspicions would be confirmed when he heard Draco convincing Gregory Goyle that he wouldn't have to take part in any duel and boasting to both Goyle and Crabbe about his master plan.

When he reached his dorm room at 11:45 pm after speaking with Filch and did not find his wand, he panicked. Father had always told him that he, as a pureblood and a Malfoy, would always have to keep his wand on his person except when he went to sleep. Now, he had lost his wand, and his father would be incredibly disappointed and angry at him. Just when he was starting to lose his mind, he spotted a neatly folded parchment with his name written on it. He picked it up, unfolded it and began to read.

_Dear Draco,_

_You will probably be wondering what happened to your wand. Long story short, I know of your not-so-brilliant-plan to trick me, and I have used your own trap to implicate you._

_Your wand is in the trophy room, surrounded with a lot of dungbombs that are charmed to detonate at exactly midnight. Your fate lies in your own hands now, or should I say legs, because you running in time to retrieve your wand is the only thing that may save you._

_Victoriously,_

_Harry James Potter_

Draco had never known such panic. Then a lightbulb clicked in his head. Immediately, a smile lit up Draco's face. _The Parchment!_ Draco could turn it in and get Potter in a lot of trouble! But even as he looked at it, the words started to disappear. Draco's eyes widened. The bastard had used evaporating ink! Opening the letter had exposed it to air and the ink disappeared before Draco could fold the parchment and preserve the words.

At that moment, several thoughts flickered through Draco's mind. The first was that he was in a load of trouble. The second was begrudging respect and a bit of fear towards Potter. He had got the message strong and clear, 'don't mess with me'.

The third was almost unconscious, he had to run. And that is what he did. He ran and ran and ran until he reached the trophy room just a few seconds before midnight.

Several things happened that night. Hardly had Filch entered the trophy room and picked up the sole wand when Draco burst in, his eyes wide with panic. Before either of them could utter a word, the load of dungbombs which Harry had bought from the infamous Weasley twins exploded, drenching the trophy room and its two occupants in smelly smoke which attached itself to any and all surfaces it came in contact with. The filthy odour caused Draco to throw up and barely register the cry of outrage and shock from the old caretaker. He was a goner now. The smiling face of Harry came to his mind, and he screamed at the top of his voice –

"POTTER!"

Draco's plight became the most talked about event in Hogwarts. Some third years had overheard Draco complaining to the teachers that he wasn't responsible and Harry was to blame, but it fell on deaf ears as all evidence pointed towards Draco. The third years had instantly recognised the smell as dungbomb smell. They had of course, shared the news with their friends.

Hogwarts' rumour mill had twisted and turned the tale, but the most popular version was that Harry Potter had somehow pranked Draco by drenching him in dungbombs, and had done so without being implicated. The fact that Filch had met the same fate just added to the popularity.

Draco was given detention. His task was to scrub the trophy room without using magic. But the worst part was the smell on Draco wouldn't go even after many showers. Everyone did their best to steer clear of his way, scrunching their face in disgust. Even Goyle and Crabbe were keeping their distance.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side, Harry" Leo said the next day at breakfast.

"Don't tell me even you believe these false rumours! There is no way Harry could be responsible for this, right Harry?" Daphne asked, turning towards Harry.

Harry stayed silent and refused to meet Daphne's eyes.

Daphne's eyes widened. "You _are_ responsible!" she said accusingly and continued "That's why you accepted Malfoy's challenge, isn't it? You tricked him – "

Harry cut her off and told her the story. By the end, all three of them were laughing.

The next few days passed by uneventfully. Harry had received the schedule for Quidditch practice by Flint along with instructions to not reveal to anybody that he was the seeker. Harry was looking forward to both Quidditch practice as well as his detention/appointment with Professor McGonagall the next evening.

OVOS

"Tell me what you want to know, Mr. Potter" Professor McGonagall asked him when Harry came to her office at the appointed time.

"Everything, Professor. Like I told you, I know nothing about my parents. I don't even know how they look!" Harry exclaimed.

McGonagall rummaged around in her drawers for a few seconds before she pulled out a framed photograph. The photograph was of about two dozen people standing in two rows with many of them waving at the camera. Like, literally waving. _Magic._ Harry spotted his parents easily. Everyone had told him he looked like his father. That was because he did.

James and Lily Potter were standing at the far left of the photo.

James was around 20 years in the photograph, but his resemblance to Harry was uncanny. He had the same messy, untameable raven black hair like Harry's. While Harry was thin and scrawny due to the malnutrition at the Dursley's, James was lean in a muscular sort of way. His high cheekbones, on top of which a round pair of glasses rested, gave him a very aristocratic look similar to Harry's. The only major difference was that James' eyes were a hazel brown while Harry's were green. Overall, James was a very handsome man in his early twenties.

Harry's gaze then shifted to Lily. She was pretty. Really, really, pretty. Her red hair fell till her mid-back, in soft, wavy cascades. A few strands were astray, but it added to her prettiness by accentuating her face nicely. Her emerald green eyes were beautiful and comforting. Harry wondered whether his eyes looked like that too.

Lily was snuggled into James, who had put a hand around Lily's shoulder. Harry could make out the wedding rings on their fingers.

"Th… Thank you, Professor" Harry said, his voice laced with emotion. He hastily wiped unshed tears from his eyes.

"Your welcome, Potter" McGonagall said with a sad smile.

"Who are these people, Professor?" Harry asked, pointing to three other men who were standing very close to James. They appeared to be the same age as James and Lily. One of them had lanky black hair which fell to his shoulders and grey eyes. He was standing the closest to James and had him in a one-armed hug. The other two were a very shabby man and a rat faced man.

"They were your father's best friends, Potter. They were inseparable and as thick as thieves. They called themselves the marauders, and they got up to so much mischief in school that I have supervised god knows how many detentions." She said with a fond smile. "This right here was Peter Pettigrew" she said, pointing at the rat faced man. "This is Remus Lupin" she pointed at the shabby man. "And this is Sirius Black." Immediately, McGonagall's face hardened. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

_Black the criminal? Leo's father? He was best friends with my dad?_

"And who are the other people?"

"Your parents and me, along with the other people in the photograph, were members of a vigilante group called the Order of the Phoenix. The Order was put together by Albus Dumbledore as a resistance against You-know-who and his followers called the Death Eaters. Most of them were killed, some by You-know-who himself." She paused at this and took a deep breath to remain calm. "We had a spy in the Order, but we didn't know who it was. Turns out it was Black himself who was responsible for not only spying on us but also – It is better if you don't know, Harry" she finished.

Harry was going to protest but the way McGonagall told his first name in a half-warning, half-pleading way stopped him.

"I promise to tell you everything, but not now. When you are a bit older, perhaps." She said.

"Alright, Professor. But could you tell me about their school years? Also, would you mind terribly if I brought Leo along as his father was best friends with mine?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Potter. I will tell you all I know. And no, I wouldn't mind if you bring Mr. Black with you" she said with a smile. She was not prejudiced and biased in her opinion of the Black heir, like she wasn't in her opinions of the kids of other death eaters, although it was hard as she had never expected Sirius Black of all people to go dark.

Harry smiled and walked out of the office after bidding the Professor goodnight.

OVOS

Harry and Leo sat in silence atop the astronomy tower.

Leo had downright refused to accompany Harry to McGonagall's office initially because he didn't want to know about a criminal who was unfortunately his father, but when Harry showed him the photograph and told him how McGonagall had informed him that James Potter and Sirius Black had been best friends, he agreed reluctantly.

One week had passed since then, and both of the young boys had learnt many things about their respective parents, some unexpected and some surprising.

Harry had found out that James and Sirius had been closer than brothers. They had shared a very strong camaraderie with Lupin and Pettigrew. McGonagall had told them stories of how James and Sirius and the rest of the marauders were the best pranksters she had ever seen. She had told them about most of their antics and mischief. She had told Harry about how his mother had been friends with Snape until 5th year. That had been a right shock. He had also learnt that the marauders and Snape had been at each other's throats constantly. That explained some of the hatred Snape had towards him.

They had also learnt that Remus Lupin was a werewolf. When they had both made faces of horror because both of their opinions on werewolves were influenced by muggle films, McGonagall had explained to them what werewolves were. After that, they found that it didn't matter.

McGonagall had told them how James had developed feelings for Lily in their fourth year, but how they only got together at the end of their sixth year. Sirius, according to Professor McGonagall, had been a handsome and charming boy who had shared broom closets with many girls until he had finally fallen in love with Leo's mother, Edith Black nee Lawther, a muggleborn Hufflepuff.

All in all, the past week had been a rollercoaster of emotions and very bittersweet. Sweet because Leo and Harry learned a lot about their parents, but bitter because Leo was constantly reminded of his father being a criminal and Harry and Leo both had constantly longed for their parents and mother respectively.

The last day in particular had been very emotionally draining as McGonagall had talked about the last wizarding war and their parents' involvement in it. McGonagall had only told them briefly about Sirius being a spy for the dark side without delving deeper into his other crimes. Immediately after the meeting, Leo had walked to the Astronomy tower rather than head back to their common room. Harry had followed.

"Are you fine?" Harry finally asked and regretted it the moment the words left his mouth.

"Of course, I'm fine! What is there to not be fine about!" Leo snapped, and Harry flinched at his bitter and angry tone.

A moment passed in uneasy silence.

Leo sighed. "I'm sorry, Harry. This is all a bit too much for me. Two months ago, I was just another person; a nobody living in an orphanage." He chuckled mirthlessly. "Then, my whole world was turned upside down when I learnt that I am a wizard and just as something nice had happened to me, I learnt that my father was a criminal. All this while, I had imagined my father to be some sort of thug who frequently committed crimes. Now, I learn that my father and your dad were best friends, and so much more about him that just doesn't fit with what I thought he was like."

Harry hummed. That was concerning him too. What he had learnt from McGonagall about Black didn't point to him being a criminal or a bad person. The only logical conclusion he could come to was that something major and bad had happened in Black's life that had led to him go 'dark', as McGonagall had put it.

_What made a person dark? Was it the dark magic they practiced? Or because they broke the law? That would mean even a petty thief would be classified dark but…_

He was interrupted out of his musings by Leo.

"Does this change things between us, Harry?" His voice was low and barely above a whisper. His eyes were unfocused and were staring off into the distance.

"Of course, it does!" Harry replied instantly

Leo sighed in resignation and frustration. He had wanted to ask that question to Harry ever since the first meeting with McGonagall. And he had been dreading the answer he would receive. It seemed that his worst fears had come true. He had been a fool to think that Harry would want to stay friends with him after all that they had learnt.

It hurt, because Harry was his first friend, and probably his best friend too. He had had mere acquaintances at the orphanage but no solid friendships. He cursed his father internally for what felt like the hundredth time. Or was it the thousandth? He wasn't sure. But, the crux of the matter was that he would once again be alone and shunned due to legacy of his father. Oh, how he hated life! Why couldn't things be better for once!?

"It was nice being your friend, Harry" he said and made to get up.

Harry looked at him as if he had grown a second head. He grabbed Leo's arm and pulled him down.

"What the hell are you on about?" Harry asked.

"Umm… Well… you said… when I asked – You said it changes things between us?" Leo asked in response as he wrung his hands nervously.

Harry stared at him.

"When I said it changes things between us, I said it in a positive way, Leo." Hope blossomed in Leo's chest at these words. Harry continued. "Look at us, we became friends without even knowing that our fathers had been best friends throughout their Hogwarts years. Coincidence? Or the work of Fate?" he said extra dramatically. "We are the next generation marauders, Leo, and we have a legacy to live up to. Who cares that your dad turned out like that in the end? You aren't your dad, are you?" He finished rhetorically.

Leo smiled and stood up. He looked away for a second and blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall. "We need to go now, Harry. Don't want to get caught by filthy Filch, yeah?" he said and hoisted his friend up. Together, they made their way back to their common room.

OVOS

The Slytherin Quidditch team was very wary and apprehensive when Flint introduced Harry as the Seeker. Adrian Pucey was the only one who wanted to give him a chance to prove himself, his reasoning being Flint wouldn't have chosen Harry without him exhibiting exceptional talent. It took Harry catching the snitch four times consecutively for them to finally accept him as one of their own.

Blood purity, it seemed, didn't matter among members of the Quidditch team. They were a bunch of Quidditch fanatics who only judged a teammate by their flying skills.

Quidditch training was gruelling. Harry had to do full body workouts to keep in shape and be flexible. His reflexes too were constantly being worked on by Pucey. By the end of the day, Harry was dead on his feet and fell asleep without having dinner or changing out of his clothes.

The days passed by in a blur of Quidditch practice, attempting to learn all the spells wandlessly, brewing potions from his second year book, and enjoying his days at Hogwarts with his two friends for Harry. The first Quidditch match was scheduled for the first week of November, and Harry was both excited and nervous.

On the first of October, Harry and Leo came down to breakfast a bit late as it was a Sunday. Daphne arrived a few minutes later along with her roommate Tracey Davis and took a seat across from them while Davis moved to sit a bit farther down the table.

' _Something is different'_ was Harry's first thoughts when he took in Daphne's appearance. He had always prided himself in his ability to read people. Her blond hair was a bit damp like she had just taken a shower. It was made up more elegantly than normal and Harry could smell a strong perfume. She also wore slight make up, something she had never done before. Harry wondered whether magical makeup was different than muggle makeup, but decided to abandon that train of thought for now.

"What?" Daphne asked, noticing Harry observing her with a calculating look in his eyes.

"Is it your birthday today?" Harry asked, taking a guess.

Daphne blinked. "Yes, it is. How did you know? I didn't tell any of you" she said.

"Just a guess. Happy birthday, Daph. I didn't get you a gift though" He said and frowned.

"Happy birthday. I didn't get you one too" Leo said

"Thank you. I don't want gifts, anyway."

"Are you 12 years old now?" Leo asked.

"Yep. When's your birthday?"

"The 17th of April. I'm 11"

They all knew when Harry was born due to his 'popularity' and didn't ask him.

"Say, why don't we head to the kitchens for lunch? I'm pretty sure the elves there would love to whip up something nice for Daph" Harry said.

"For Daph? Just admit _you_ want some Treacle Tart." Leo said. Daphne chuckled and Harry gave him a look of mock betrayal. "Also, Elves?" Leo asked, confused.

Daphne explained to Leo what elves were.

"So they actually _like_ being enslaved, huh" he said. "How do you know where the kitchens are, by the way?"

"The Weasley twins congratulated me on successfully 'pranking ickle Malfoy' and gave me that piece of information as some sort of reward."

"Where is it?" Daphne asked.

"I can't tell you, but I can show you" Harry said with a grin.

That afternoon, lunch was eaten in the kitchen which was located near the Hufflepuff common room courtesy of the overzealous house elves.

The days leading up to Halloween passed by uneventfully, and Harry's excitement over the first Quidditch match of the season which was Slytherin against Gryffindor grew exponentially.

Halloween was a sombre day for Harry as it was his parents' 10th death anniversary, and he decided not to attend that evening's feast. The only positive thing about the day had been that Professor Flitwick had started the levitation charm and had been very impressed when Harry got it on his first try and had announced it to the class. Granger, who had been about to correct Weasley's pronunciation, had shot him a look of defeat before slumping down in her seat. She finally seemed to have accepted that Harry was better at magic than her.

Leo and Daphne had wisely stayed behind with Harry in the common room after the Weasley twins had warned them that they were going to be pranking the Slytherin table by lacing the food with potions from a joke shop which would change the hair of the Slytherins gold and red.

A few minutes passed by as the trio sat by the fireplace, working on their Potions assignment. Suddenly, a huge sound was heard accompanied by a high pitched scream causing them to jump to their feet and head to the common room entrance.

"What was that?" Harry asked and stepped out of the common room.

"And what is that smell?" Daphne asked, scrunching her face in disgust.

"It's coming from the girls' bathroom" Leo said.

Another large boom was heard along with the same high pitched scream.

"Tracey! She went to the bathroom!" Daphne said with her eyes wide in horror.

"Run! Get a teacher!" Harry told Daphne, who ran towards the Great hall without hesitating. "Leo, follow me!" Harry said.

"Do you think it's a good idea to rush in?" Leo asked.

"Of course not! But Davis is in danger in there with who knows what!" Harry shouted and set off towards the general direction of the sound.

"Good point." Leo said and ran after Harry.

The foul stench grew more pungent the closer they moved towards the girls' bathroom. Finally, they were standing in the entrance to the bathroom, looking at a 10 foot tall mountain troll.

Tracey Davis was cowering in a corner hoping to avoid the deadly swings of the troll's club. The troll had wreaked havoc in the bathroom as was evident from the many destroyed sinks and stalls. The troll had apparently missed landing a direct hit on Davis, and was drawing back its club for another swing.

"Distract the troll, Leo!" Harry said.

"How do I distract a _troll!_ "

"I don't know! Do a tap dance for all I care! Just distract it!"

"HEY YOU UGLY FAT TROLL!" Leo shouted, waving his hands madly. The troll tuned away from Tracey and looked at Leo.

Tracey looked up and her gaze landed on Leo.

Harry meanwhile had silently made his way behind the troll, putting himself in between the troll and Tracey.

The troll started advancing towards Leo, who started to freak out.

_Mountain troll! What do I know about them! THINK Harry, THINK! Yes! They are resistant to magic. Oh no! We are doomed! Unless…_

"LEO! USE THE LEVITATION CHARM!" Harry shouted.

Two levitation charms shot towards the troll, the one cast by Leo impacting with the club causing it to rise in the air and Harry's bouncing off of its skin uselessly.

Leo raised the club high over the head of the surprised troll and dropped it on its head.

The impact caused the troll to let out a groan and stumble a bit. It ( _He? Did troll even have genders?_ ) used a sink to support itself and prevent from falling.

Harry cast another silent levitation charm at the club and banged it on the troll's head a few times. The troll was thick headed (Harry had to resist a giggle at this; trolls were both literally and metaphorically thick headed, it seemed) and it took multiple attempts to finally knock out the troll.

Harry sighed while Leo took deep breaths. Before any of them could catch their breaths, Professors Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick, Quirrell and Dumbledore stormed in after Daphne.

"What is going on here!" McGonagall bellowed.

"We –" Leo started but was cut off by Tracey Davis.

"They saved my life, Professor!" she squealed.

_A bit dramatic in my opinion._

"Is that so, Ms. Davis?" Professor Snape drawled, his tone indicating that he clearly didn't believe her.

"Would you care to explain what happened, Mr. Black?" Dumbledore asked.

Leo explained in detail what had happened.

"Then it seems points are in order. 10 points to Slytherin each, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter and Ms. Greengrass" Professor McGonagall said with a smile.

Dumbledore fixed the bathroom with a few waves of his wand, and Harry was at awe at the casual display of such complex magic. The four Slytherins were instructed to return to their common room.

They made their way back to the common room in silence.

"Thank you Black, Potter. You too, Greengrass" Davis blurted out

"You're welcome" Leo said and the other two nodded.

"I'm sorry" she said again.

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"I thought you were dark, Black. And I thought you were an arrogant git, Potter. And I didn't trust you because you were friends with them, Greengrass"

"Is that why you avoided me for the past two months?" Daphne asked incredulously.

"Yes" Davis said and blushed

"Why are you so lonely? I mean, you aren't friends with anyone in Slytherin or anyone else as far as I know" Leo asked.

"I am a half-blood, you see – " she started

"We are too" Harry cut in, pointing to himself and Leo.

"Yes, I know. But my mom's a muggle" She said 

There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"You can be friends with us, seeing as you no longer think of us as 'dark wizards ' or 'arrogant gits'" Leo broke the silence.

"Yes. We are already roommates, and I could do with a girl friend. I swear to you that I'll die if I have to keep listening to these two go on about boy stuff any longer" Daphne said.

"Hey!" Harry protested and they laughed.

Tracey started hanging out with them often since then. Malfoy attempted to insult her once, but ran away with his tail between his legs when Harry merely said the word 'Dungbombs'. She was a very cheerful and bubbly person with brown hair and brown eyes. Unlike the other three, she loved to talk about herself and told them about the benefits of growing up in both the worlds. The house of Davis was a minor pureblood house, she had told them. Her mum worked with computers and her dad was employed by the ministry of magic, but as what exactly she didn't know.

With Halloween behind them, the only thing that elicited excitement from the student populace was the first Quidditch match of the season. Pre-game jitters followed Harry from his dorm room to the Great hall on the morning of the 4th of November, the day of the match. He, along with the rest of the house team, had trained hard and now they would be put to the test against a very strong opponent. Harry didn't want to disappoint his teammates, and prayed that luck would be on his side for his first match.

T.B.C.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to ffn user TheHPFanEV for the beta work


	5. Christmas

Chapter 5

All the nervousness he had been feeling scarcely a minute ago ebbed away as soon as he took off on his broom. His entry into the Quidditch pitch was met with a lot of surprised mumbling and a few jeers. He tuned out the surprised exclamations of the commentator, Leo Jordan, and focused on his objective – ' _catch the snitch'_

It was a cloudy day, probably the beginning of the Scottish winter, Harry mused. He circled way above the game, barely paying attention to the players. His emerald green eyes scanned the space below him, hawk-like and focused, for any indication of the tiny, elusive, golden snitch.

A few minutes passed by. Slytherin and Gryffindor had been constantly scoring against each other. Both of the two teams managed to gain a maximum of 10-point leads before the other team matched them or overtook them. The Gryffindor seeker was only half-heartedly making an attempt to actively seek. Harry grinned at this. The opposing seeker had underestimated Harry, and by doing so, he had allowed Harry room to exploit it. Harry immediately turned his broom towards the right and started to make his way towards the Gryffindor seeker.

When he was about 20 feet way from the Gryffindor seeker, Harry's broom lurched forward. Immediately, it lurched backwards. Harry's first thought was that the broom was faulty, but he dismissed the thought right away. The broom was a _Nimbus 1700_ in an almost perfect condition which Pucey had lent him, seeing as he had bought the much newer _Nimbus 2000._

It was at this moment that he felt an external force holding and jerking the broom.

None of the other players had their wands drawn out, and were mostly concentrating on the game. Logically, only someone in the crowd could have been casting the Jinx. The broom lurched violently yet again, and a few gasps of shock and horror rippled through the crowd as they finally noticed his plight.

It was getting harder to hold onto the broom now, and he couldn't wait for the adults to help him – if he wanted to stay unbroken, that is. He didn't have much trust or faith in authority figures, which was mostly due to how they had always turned a blind eye whenever he had been bullied in school. He had to do something to get himself out of this mess, and he had to do it fast.

A risky plan began forming in his mind. Jinxing required eye contact. Since the perpetrator was unknown, his only hope was to somehow break the eye contact. The broom jerked forward, almost throwing him off it. Then, it jerked backwards. Instead of fighting against the movement, Harry pulled the broom towards the direction of the jerk. Whoever was jinxing the broom had clearly not expected this, and for a moment, the eye contact broke. This was all that Harry needed. For a moment, it felt like the broom would flip over and send him hurtling towards the ground, but he managed to pull into a dive at the last second.

The imminent danger having passed, the attention of the audience as well as Harry's went back to the game, although Harry was very alert now. Gryffindor was leading by 40 points now, and they seemed to be on a scoring spree.

Just as Harry finished another lap around the pitch, he noticed the Snitch. It was hovering in one place about 10 feet above the ground. He dived. He could vaguely make out the amplified voice of Lee Jordan exclaiming that Harry had noticed the snitch.

A whoosh of wind and the rippling of robes announced the presence of the Gryffindor seeker behind him. Harry leant forward, pressing his body to the broom. He widened his shoulders so that his body and robes acted as an obstruction and prevented the Gryffindor seeker from being able to see much of anything in front of Harry.

He was very close to the snitch now. He outstretched his right hand when he was about a few feet away from the snitch. The snitch, sensing his presence, made to move to the right, but Harry was ready for it. He immediately pulled to the broom to the right and grabbed the snitch with his right hand and pulled out of the dive just in time.

The Gryffindor seeker wasn't so lucky. His vision had been obscured, and he hadn't been able to gauge how far away from the ground he was. He attempted to pull up, but the only thing he did was lessen the impact of the crash.

Slytherin won the match, with Harry being praised for his exceptional seeking. The Gryffindor seeker suffered a broken bone which Madam Pomfrey was able to fix in a few minutes. Everything returned to the same normalcy after the initial celebrations, and the next thing Harry looked forward to was Christmas.

He had debated with himself whether to correct his friends and inform a teacher that his broom had been jinxed and not malfunctioned like they all believed it to, but decided against it. He didn't know how they would take the news, and he didn't have any proof. His friends might believe him, but his Head of House sure wasn't going to bat an eyelid and would most likely sneer and call him an 'attention seeking, pampered, dunderhead'.

OVOS

Daphne and Tracey had opted to go home for the Christmas holidays, so had most of the students at Hogwarts. Harry, Leo and few upper years were the only Slytherins who had stayed back at Hogwarts along with some members of the other houses.

Hogwarts stood tall and colourful in contrast to the plain white snow which covered the grounds surrounding the castle. Sunny days had been left far behind them to be replaced by the cold, snowy days of winter. Surprisingly, Harry found himself liking the cold weather. He had hated the cold for as long as he could remember, but that was probably because of how he had been very poorly dressed for the weather in Dudley's cast-offs which did almost nothing to protect him from the harsh winter days in Surrey.

Now, though, he decided that he liked the cold winter days when he could curl up in an armchair by the fireplace sipping hot chocolate sourced from the kitchens, or go for long walks along the frozen Black Lake completely bundled up in thick winter clothing while the snow fell in soft cascades of white beauty.

Harry and Leo spent the days leading up to Christmas enjoying themselves. Snow fights with the Weasley twins, or roaming the castle and the occasional broom rides took up most of their time, not that they minded. For the first time in his life, Harry felt like he belonged, like he truly fit in. He wasn't the unwanted freak anymore. The only thing that dampened his joy was the daunting task that lay ahead of him – choosing Christmas gifts for his friends.

He had never in his life received or given any gifts. He had no experience whatsoever and didn't know what to give his friends. The insecure part of him kept telling him that they wouldn't bother with a gift for him, but he ignored it. It took him a week to come up with suitable things which he could gift his three friends. He could only hope that they liked it. Hedwig was very happy when he asked her whether she could deliver the gifts, and had set off after nipping Harry's ear for having doubted her.

It was Christmas morning before they knew it. Harry awoke with a yawn. He rubbed his eyes and drew back the curtains. All his insecurities and fears of not receiving any gifts resurfaced for a moment. Thankfully, the fears were unfounded as he immediately spotted two piles of gifts beside his and Leo's beds.

"Wake up, Leo! Wake up!" Harry shouted in joy.

"Umm… Arghhh! What the – Harry?" Leo asked tiredly as he rubbed his eyes.

"It's Christmas, Leo! We got gifts!" Harry beamed.

"Merry Christmas, Harry" He said and bolted up, fully awake upon hearing the word 'gifts'

"Merry Christmas to you too, Leo" Harry said and almost pounced on the gifts.

He had gotten 4 gifts, which were 4 more than he usually got.

Tracey had sent him a gobstones set, which Harry opened and eyed hungrily. It had to wait though, as the other gifts were begging to be opened. Leo had sent him a book on potions titled _'Moste Potente Potions'_ which he knew after many frequent visits to the library to be kept in the restricted section. He put it away with a promise to himself to try to brew all the potions in the book before his 4th year. He turned to Leo and thanked him profusely for the book before advancing to the other presents.

Daphne had gifted him a diary. At first glance Harry thought that it was quite plain, but upon closer inspection he realised that it was bound in dragon hide. It also had his name inscribed on it in gold lettering in the wavy, flowery handwriting of Daphne's. It also had a letter attached to it.

_Dear Harry,_

_A Merry Christmas to you!_

_I didn't know what to give you, and finally settled on this quaint diary which I bought in Diagon Alley. I have seen you make notes and observations in a small diary which you seem to carry around with you everywhere, and I also noticed that the pages were being filled up very fast._

_This diary has been 'magicked' to never run out of parchment. I hope that you like it. I am looking forward to returning to Hogwarts soon. 'Tori is driving me nuts by asking about Hogwarts. Thankfully, I haven't told her that I am friends with the 'boy-who-lived'… yet._

Harry could imagine Daphne rolling her eyes at this and then sighing, and it made him chuckle.

_I am getting awfully bored here, and I will be insanely envious if you and Leo have been having loads of fun at Hogwarts._

_Don't go chasing after any more trolls._

_Yours lovingly,_

_Daphne_

Harry folded the letter and placed it in his trunk with a smile on his face. He noticed that Leo too had received a letter from Daphne which he had just unfolded and was beginning to read.

Harry's eyes landed on the final present. Who else could have gifted him a present?

He tore open the wrapper and what looked like a cloak fell out.

The cloak felt so smooth and silky in his hold that he would have thought that it was liquid if he hadn't seen it.

He wrapped the cloak around his shoulders and looked down to see how it fit him. He saw… _nothing?!_

"Ah… Harry? You're invisible!" Leo said, his eyes wide in shock.

"An invisibility cloak" Harry said, almost to himself.

"But who would have gifted you an _invisibility cloak_?" Leo asked after a few moments.

A small slip of parchment which had fallen to the ground when he had opened the wrapper caught his eye, and Harry picked it up.

_Your father left this is my care before he passed. Use it well._

_APWBD_

For a moment, Harry felt really confused. Then, he recognised the initials, having seen the full form in his Hogwarts letter.

"Albus Dumbledore" he whispered.

"But why would Dumbledore give you an invisibility cloak?"

Harry handed him the small strip of parchment.

There was silence for a moment. Harry was still wrapping his mind around the fact that his father had had an invisibility cloak, which was now his, and Leo read the short letter.

"He gifted you what was technically yours to you for Christmas?!" Leo asked, appalled.

"Yes, seems like it" Harry nodded.

He decided to ignore that one detail. He had received an invisibility cloak which had been his father's, and he wouldn't allow anything to spoil the metaphorical high he was revelling in.

"Imagine the things that we could do with this" Harry said, his eyes suddenly gleaming.

Leo rubbed his hands and grinned a very maniacal grin.

The two young boys made good use of the invisibility cloak. They prowled the corridors of Hogwarts under its cover at night. The sense of adventure, the adrenaline rush when they had to slip past Filch right under his nose, and most of all, the ethereal beauty of the castle under the light of the moon and the stars would forever be imprinted in their minds and would serve for much nostalgia decades into the future. They even pranked Malfoy and his goons once.

OVOS

The Hogwarts express returned shortly after the first day of January.

"Leo! Harry!" Tracey exclaimed as soon as she neared them with Daphne following behind her.

"Hello!" The two boys chorused together and exchanged grins.

"What has you two grinning like Cheshire cats?" Daphne asked

"Oh! A lot of things actually" Harry said

"You two have missed out on a lot" Leo finished

Daphne raised an eyebrow and fixed them both with a questioning look.

"Thankfully, there's still one thing left to do"

"And we have reserved it as a welcome back party of sorts" Harry said, grinning from ear to ear.

"A party? Let's get to it then!" Tracey said. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

The four of them made their way towards the Slytherin common room and then to Harry and Leo's dorm room.

"Ta Da!" Leo exclaimed with a flourish after Harry opened the door.

The two girls looked around the room. It wasn't that different from their own room, and it also didn't look like it had been prepared for any party. Then their eyes came to rest on a small basket laid upon a picnic cloth on the floor between the two beds.

"What have you got?" Tracey asked.

"See for yourselves" Leo said with a grin still plastered upon his face.

Daphne stepped forward, lifted the cover of the basket and peered inside. What she saw made her squeal in excitement and surprise.

Tracey too stepped forward and looked at the contents of the basket. Inside were 6 bottles of Butterbeer.

"Butterbeer! Where the hell did you get _butterbeer_ from?!" she asked incredulously looking at the two boys who were still standing by the door.

"Being acquainted with the Weasley twins has its advantages" Harry said with a modest shrug, but it was clear that he was pleased.

"Wow! We aren't allowed to have butterbeer until we're 13 years old" Daphne said

"And that, Ms Greengrass, is why no one can know about this" Leo said, looking at both Tracey and Daphne with a solemn expression on his face.

"Our mouths are closed" Tracey spoke and mimed zipping her mouth close.

The four of them wasted no time in making themselves comfortable around the basket. The bottles were passed around and before they knew it, they had finished all but one bottle. The very little alcohol content wouldn't have made much of a difference to anyone 13 years and above, but the four of them were 11-year olds and while it wasn't enough to get them tipsy, it was enough to make them drowsy.

The girls left for their dorm room after bidding them goodnight and the two boys sluggishly crawled onto their beds and were out within a minute.

Two days after, Harry found himself falling back into the same routine which he had followed before Christmas. Attending classes and finishing the assignments which had piled up had been tiring, and he hadn't had the time to sneak out at night.

Harry watched quietly as the other students in the common room got up and headed to their dormitories. Leo was down with cold and fever, and was in the Hospital wing. Even the magical world hadn't found a cure to the common cold. Daphne and Tracey had already gone off to bed. Finally, he was the only one left in the common room.

Harry sat unmoving for a while, revelling in the peace and tranquillity of the silent common room. The familiar ominous green glow of the common room bathed him, making his normally pale skin glow.

He got up and pulled the invisibility cloak out of a magically modified pocket in his robes. Stepping out of the common room, he wrapped it around himself.

He wandered the labyrinth like corridors of the cool dungeons for a while before finally deciding to head upstairs. He and Leo had lost their way a few times in the dungeons, and he wanted to avoid that now.

After wandering around on the first and second floors, Harry reached the third floor. Leo had once proposed venturing into the third-floor corridor which Dumbledore had warned them against, but Harry had shot down that suggestion.

Harry yawned. He was feeling sleepy. _Time to head back then…_

"Who's there?" came the unmistakable rough voice of Filch, or 'Filthy Filch' as Leo had dubbed him.

Harry froze. His yawn had been heard. He turned around and assessed the situation. Filch was heading towards him. It would be risky to try to get past the caretaker because Mrs. Norris could easily detect his scent. He and Leo had learnt it the hard way, and had saved themselves from getting caught at the last moment by a hair's breadth.

Going the opposite way would lead him to the third floor corridor, and he didn't want to venture there. Dumbledore's warning at the start of term feast had been genuine. He looked around and spotted a locked door a few feet away from where he was standing.

He moved towards it swiftly and opened it with a silent _alohomora._ He stepped in, closed the door, and locked it with a _colloportus._

He could hear Filch's footsteps getting closer. Confident that Filch wouldn't find him, Harry let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and looked around the room.

It was an abandoned classroom. Desks and chairs were piled up at the sides of the classroom. All in all, Harry taught that it was a rather bland sight. That was until he spotted the tall mirror on the other side.

Harry walked closer to get a clear look of the mirror.

It was elegant and tall. The surface of the mirror was spotless with no dust on it, which suggested that it hadn't been there for a long time. But what stood out was the inscription etched across the top of the mirror.

_Erised stra ehru oy tube cafru oyt on wohsi._

At first, Harry assumed it was gibberish. But then, he concluded that the inscription was some sort of code. He peered at it closely from behind his circle rimmed glasses trying his best to understand it. A few moments later, he face palmed himself. It was so easy. You just had to read it from right to left to understand it.

"I show not your face but your heart's desire" he whispered and looked down at the mirror.

For a moment, he saw nothing but his own reflection. Then, the surface of the mirror started getting cloudy before finally clearing.

His parents were by far the most easily recognisable people as he had already seen photos of them. But the photos were nothing compared to the images in the mirror. Here they looked more energetic and more _alive_. So much that he quickly looked behind him to see if they were actually present.

Then he noticed the other people. It wasn't hard to guess that they were all previous Potters – his family.

And they were all smiling at him and looking at him with no small amount of pride etched on their faces.

A howl from afar broke him out of his daze. With a start, Harry realised that he had been staring dreamily at the mirror for a very long time. He shuddered. The mirror had drawn him in, so much that he had lost track of time. It had been almost like drowning endlessly, and Harry feared what would have become of him if he hadn't been able to snap out of the trance.

He quickly exited the room with his cloak covering him. As he made his way towards the Dungeons, his thoughts went back to the Mirror of Erised. The magic that must have been used to create such an artefact must have surely been tremendous.

He debated with himself whether to inform Leo, or Daphne, or Tracey about the mirror, and in the end decided not to. The mirror was too dangerous, there wasn't any doubt about that, and it would be unwise for more people to know of its existence. Who would keep such a thing in a school anyways?

He whispered the password and stepped through the entrance and into the common room.

The last thought which occupied his mind before he fell asleep was a promise to himself to never again set foot in that room if he could help it. The chance of seeing his family, while appealing, bore more risk than result.

January faded into February. Life in the magical castle had settled back into the regular monotony, with the only drama being the rumours of an invisible child eating, dark creature roaming the castle at night doing its rounds.

"Do you know what I find weird?" Leo asked one day when he, Harry and Tracey were walking towards double potions with the Gryffindors after finishing DADA.

"What?" Harry asked

"Quirrell" Leo answered

Tracey snorted. "As if that's something new"

"No, something weirder than the normal weird. Quirrell looked like he was… happy about something? Even his stutter was almost… fa–"

"Life in an orphanage, especially a _muggle_ one must be quite hard, don't you think, Black?" Malfoy drawled, cutting off Leo.

Harry resisted the urge to sigh. Draco had minded his own business these couple of months, but all good things had to come to an end.

"What would _you_ know about it, Malfoy?" Leo asked calmly, but Harry could sense the anger in his words. How Draco had gotten hold of that information, Harry didn't know.

 _He probably wrote to his father,_ Harry mused

"Yes, _I_ wouldn't know, would I? After all, I have two very loving parents and a nice home." Draco countered with a smirk.

"Shut up, Malfoy" Leo said, and Harry noticed that he was trembling in anger.

"Sod off. We don't have the time to deal with you" Harry said, stepping in between them, hoping to put a stop to it before it escalated.

"Ah, Potter! You know, don't you? What it's like to not have parents, I mean?" Draco sneered.

Harry rolled his eyes. If Draco thought that he could rile Harry up by such statements, he was very, very, wrong. Harry had heard worse about his parents from Vernon, and Draco's jibes couldn't even be compared to the insults his Uncle could come up with. Harry liked to think that he had grown immune to any insults.

_Sticks and Stones may hurt my bones but words won't hurt me and all that._

"If you are satisfied, then please leave us alone" Harry said with no small amount of sarcasm.

"Too afraid to face me, Potter?"

"No, he isn't. He just thinks you're a major waste of time and space." Tracey said

"I didn't speak to you, mudblood." Draco said and scrunched his face in disgust. Crabbe and Goyle, who had been dumb spectators until now, guffawed.

Tracey flinched as if she had been slapped.

Leo and Harry didn't know what mudblood meant at that point, but it was an easy guess. Leo growled and even Harry felt his anger rising.

"Leave. Now" Leo said through gritted teeth.

"Poor little- "

Leo didn't allow Draco to finish the sentence. He whipped out his wand and pointed it at Draco's head.

"Listen here, you little shit. I don't care what – "

Leo was interrupted yet again.

"That will be a week of detention starting tomorrow for using magic in the corridor and threatening another student, Black" drawled the steady voice of Severus Snape out of nowhere.

"But Professor it was he who started it first!" Leo said with barely restrained anger.

"Is that so, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked, looking at Draco.

"No, Professor"

"Do you have any evidence against the contrary?" Snape said with a malicious smirk.

"No" Leo grumbled

"Even if that's the case, it doesn't excuse the unwarranted use of slurs by Malfoy, Professor." Harry pointed out with a calm facade.

"That will be one week of detention for you too, Potter, for questioning a teacher. Now, if you are done wasting time get inside" Snape snapped, his entire attention now focused on Harry.

Harry didn't say anything else, for he knew reasoning with Snape was pointless. The man confused Harry to no extent. Most of the times, he was more than happy to award him points during class, though that was mostly because he wanted Slytherin to win the house cup. However, he never hesitated to hurl thinly veiled insults at him, nor did he waste any opportunity to punish him, like he had done mere seconds ago. Was Snape so childish as to direct his hatred towards James at Harry? Most probably, he had proved to be very narrow minded, after all.

"What were you saying anyway? About Quirrell, I mean?" Harry asked Leo, who was grumbling under his breath.

"Dunno. I forgot" He said.

Harry shrugged and walked into the classroom with a grumbling Leo and a very uncomfortable looking Tracey following him.


End file.
